Generation Now
by Fast
Summary: Everyone has grown up and now it is time for a new generation of Ninja. Naruto and the gang are teaching these new students, who are the worst Genin ever. Starring Naruto, Neji, Sasuke, Hinata, Kiba and Gaara.
1. New Ninja

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

**Author's Note**: Some of you may hate this one pairing involved, but it was necessary. Any other pairing, besides Yaoi, that you want to see you can vote on. Also, I am not going to do incest. That is just wrong, in my opinion.

Since this is a future story, there will be OC's. It would be somewhat pointless otherwise. Just saying right now, NO OC WILL BE ABLE TO BEAT A CANON CHARACTER, and there will be no character bashing. If you have an idea for an OC, review and tell me, but keep in mind they are going to probably lose so do not be mad when the time comes and they are crushed.

* * *

"This is unbelievable."

"How can this be?"

"Impossible!"

"Could it really be true?"

Murmurs reverberated throughout the small room where the Jonin and a single Chunin were meeting. Finally, the Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves stood, ceasing all whispers at once.

"As all of you are aware, there seems to be a strange anomaly amongst this year's Genin candidates. Since Iruka-sensei undoubtedly knows more about this, I shall let him explain further." A tall Chunin with short, white hair and a large scar horizontally slashed across his face stood up from his chair and began speaking. He appeared to be in his mid forties.

"Thank you, Hokage Tsunade. Nothing this strange has happened since the infamous Nine graduated. However, this case is the complete opposite. All of these current ninja are horrible. Unlike the superb ninja during Naruto and Sasuke's year, these are the worst ninja I have ever seen. Only ten of the thirty students managed to pass the test, even after we had drastically lowered the standards last year. On top of that, one of them somehow managed to severely injure himself during the exam, leaving only nine fully functional shinobi-in-training remaining. I asked the Hokage to call us together so we may discuss what are next course of action should be." As Iruka finished speaking, he sat back down and let the crowd of elites digest this new information.

"What's the big deal? If they all suck then we don't pass 'em. Simple as that." A crass Jonin, named Kiba yelled out. He was wearing a black jacket with his hood down and was absently stroking his large white dog, Akamaru, who was lying next to him.

"I wish it were that simple." The Godaime Hokage replied. "Everything in Konoha has a quota that needs to be met, Genin included. If we didn't have a certain number of candidates participating in the Chunin Exams then other villages would take that as a sign of weakness. They would see the decline of power of the best ninja village in existance today, the Village Hidden in The Leaves."

"And if they thought that the other villages may attack us and we could have another ninja war. How troublesome." Shikamaru, another Jonin, finished. He was currently leaning against the wall, looking half-asleep. Shikamaru was a brilliant ninja, with an IQ of 200; however, he was extremely lazy.

"But we still have the youthful Genin from last graduation who declined to take the Chunin Exam this time. Why can't they just take it?" Rock Lee asked. The taijutsu specialist wore a green, spandex jumpsuit and his Jonin vest over top. Lee had a comical likeness to Maito Gai, from the ridiculous outfit to the huge eyebrows and black hair shaped like a helmet.

"Eventually this would come back to haunt us. This exam, we would be fine, but the next one or the one following that we might not be so lucky." Shikimaru replied again.

"Exactly," Tsunade continued. "So in other words, for those of you who weren't paying attention – NARUTO – all of these Genin will have to pass they're final test. All that's left now is to choose who their instructors are going to be?" Naruto, a loud Jonin wearing a bright orange jumpsuit, didn't even acknowledge that his name had been said and kept playing the zipper of his jacket, oblivious to the world around him.

Tsunade scanned the crowd looking for any possible teachers in the group. Neji? No, he would probably kill the students – especially since they're weaklings this year. Same with Anko and Ibiki. Rock Lee? No way! Those youth speeches would scar them for life. Shikamaru? He's smart but too lazy to ever teach them. Kakashi? No, he only trains those who can meet his high standards, and this group obviously wouldn't make the cut. Hmmm…

"Hinata, you'll teach one cell."

"I'm very sorry, Godaime, but one of my sons passed this time around, so-"

"Oh, I see. How unfortunate. You are correct though, you might be accused of favoritism or some other ludicrous claim. Sadly, that means Sasuke is out too. Ino can you do it?"

"I guess I can." A pretty, blonde woman responded. After flciking her long hair over her shoulder she sighed, obviously upset she was going to be stuck with a bunch of snot-nosed brats.

Who else? Sakura is busy at the hospital and there is already a shortage of medical ninja. Shino would creep them out, and then kill them. Asuma, Gai and Kurenai are still teaching the last batch of Genin. Chouji, Tenten and Shizune are on a long-term mission right now so that only leaves…

"I really hate to leave something this important with you two, but Naruto and Kiba you're the only ones left."

"YEAH! I'm gonna be trusted with something important. So, Old Hag, what's the super cool mission I'm going on?" Naruto finally stopped playing with his zipper when something finally penetrated his thick head. Unfortunately, the knucklehead hadn't paid any attention whatsoever before that moment.

"If you were listening idiot, you'd know that we're stuck babysitting this year's Genin. A really bad batch too it seems." Kiba growled in exasperation, while Akamaru barking agreement behind him.

"WHAT?! I thought this was gonna be a really cool assignement." Naruto said his face drooping into a pout. Suddenly, he brightened up again as he said, " Oh well, no biggy. All I gotta do is-"

"The old lady said these Genin can't be failed 'cause they're all that managed to pass." Kiba responded, already knowing what his buddy was going to say.

Naruto just sighed in defeat.

"Great. Now that that is cleared up I can go back to sleep. Good night." Said a very cheery Tsunade.

* * *

"I see you passed." A stoic voice, devoid of all emotion, stated.

"I'm so proud of you." A cheerful voice chirped beside him.

"Yes, father, I did. Thank you, mother."

Hinata Hyuuga and her family were welcoming home their eldest daughter, Rei. Her little brother, Kaito, was grinning from ear to ear and jumped into her arms, congratulating her with a big hug. The youngest daughter, Rira, was holding onto her mother's hand but she was also grinning. The only person who didn't look happy was her father. Sasuke Uchiha, was frowning with his arms folded across his chest.

"I'm dissapointed."

The words stung and made her flinch as if she'd been struck.

Ignoring her discomfort he continued. "Your uncle, Neji, became a Jonin when he was 14 years old. I became one before my 16th birthday, even with my three year…absense, where I oviously could not have become a Jonin of Konoha. Here you are17 years old and just barely passing the exam."

"I'm sorry father." Rei, responded trying as hard as she could to not look weak or emotional in front of her father.

Sasuke just shook his head and stalked off into their mansion. Hinata sighed and hugged her eldest daughter. After releasing her, she finally spoke.

"No matter what your father says I'm still proud of you. I was older than you when I passed so you have nothing to be ashamed of. You keep your sibling company while I go talk to him." Hinata squeezed Rei's hand before she followed her husband.

"Why is daddy so mean? He should be proud of you." Rira, said.

"Do not say such things. He's… Father is just trying to teach us that we need to do better. He's making sure that we become the best we could possibly be."

"Rei's right," Kaito said, frowning at the youngest sibling. "Father is one of the most powerful Jonin in Konoha. You should feel lucky that he is our father." He smiled again when he asked his other sister, "Anyway, what's it like being a big, bad Jonin, now?"

Despite herself Rei laughed. "It's pretty cool. I mean I'm not magically stronger than I was a week ago, but still it's the best feeling in the world. I feel today people stopped looking at me as the daughter of a Hyuuga and an Uchiha, but as Rei. Someone who should be respected for her own, individual strength."

After that she picked up Rira, to tell her all exactly what the Jonin test was like. Kaito did not follow them. Instead he ran toward the nearby forest. It was dark out , so he went to his secret spot to think in peace.

As he sat there staring up at the night skies, a voice startled him.

"Kaito?"

Kaito grinned, as he jumped up and shouted, "Uncle Neji! It's so good to see you."

"Hello, Kaito. What are doing here, all by yourself?"

Kaito immediately sobered up, as he plopped back down on the grass and gazed at the stars again. "I was just here to think. I'm a Genin now so I just wanted to think on what that actually meant. What being a ninja will actually be like."

"That is understandable. First, congratulations on your promotion. Second, if you were asking me for my opinion on the matter, I would say being a ninja is the only life I would have ever chosen. Every single person in this world wants to be respected – looked up to – and being a ninja is the best way to prove yourself to the world."

"But I don't know if I'm ready."

"Why would you think that? I have trained you myself and I say you will be an excellent ninja, someday."

"Will be?" Kaito sighed. "I should be one, now. When you and my father were my age, you were both prodigies, number one rookies of your respective years. Not just any years, but the golden years of Konoha, when some of the most pwerful ninja of today were born. You lived during the time when the infamous Nine were just starting out. Even my sister is considered a prodigy. The village hopes that she is a sign that the village will stop training incompetent ninja. Ninja like me. I'm just worthless."

"You are not worthless, Kaito."

"Everyone knows that few ninja born in the last ten years have any potential. The village is full of rumors that the end of the shinobi life is coming. I barely passed the test. The test that was made signifigantly easier because, so few had enough to skill to pass it."

"You may not be the best ninja, but that gives you no right to give up. I learned long ago that destiny was not set in stone; anyone can change their fate. Don't ever forget that."

Kaito smiled for the first time since his sister's return. "You're right, Uncle Neji."

Neji sighed. "Now that that is out of the way we shall commence with your training. First, what have I been teaching you about the ancient Clan dialect?"

"Um… sorry Neji…uh…Neji-sama?"

"Neji-sama is close enough."

After a few hours of being pummelled into the ground, Neji stopped his training. "Very good work, Kaito. Now, however, you need to go home and get some sleep. You have a big day tommorrow, because you are going to meet your new Genin cell instructor."

* * *

When Kaito returned home he was sneaking up the stairs,so he wouldn't be yelled at for being out so late, when he heard voices coming from the living room. He snuck back down the stairs and over to the wall. He pressed his ear against it and strained to hear the conversation.

"Calm down, dear. It's not the end of the world. So your son isn't the best shinobi in the village, so what? You should at least be proud of him for passing, and of Rei too for becoming a Jonin."

"You were at that meeting, Hinata. You heard what Iruka said. These are some of the worst Genin Konoha has ever seen, and our son is one of them." Sasuke was scowling as he sat in his chair in front of the fireplace. "Rei may be a bit stronger but what is a prodigy today would have been considerd barely above average when we were Genin. They need to be stronger. They can't be weak and be an Uchiha or Hyuuga."

When Kaito heard that he ran. He ran back up the stairs making as little noise as possible. He was lucky they were too engrossed in their conversation to look for any eavesdroppers or he would have been caught the second he walked up to the wall. He walked into his room and slid into bed, forgetting to change into sleeping clothes.

"It seems that I'm worst then I thought. I'm not just the worst of the class, but the worst student of the worst class year." Kaito said to himself as silent tears began to stream down his pale face. Suddenly, he tightened his fist and made himself a vow.

"I swear that I will prove that I am worthy enough to be your son." Kaito promised, before he fell into a deep slumber.

* * *

Rei watched as her brother shut the door behind him and went into his room. She had also heard mother and father's conversation. The worst part was if both of the children had heard it then either father did not care if he was overheard or he had wanted Kaito to listen.

She remember when she was Kaito's age. She had just made Genin rank and her Uncle and Father were arguing.

"She should be a Hyuuga. She has to be as the daughter to the heiress of the clan." Neji spat, frustrated at the stubborn man in front of him.

"No way in hell." Sasuke growled, equally frustrated. "My daughter is an Uchiha. My clan will be reestablished."

"Why would you disgrace your daughter by naming her an Uchiha. Everyone knows that the Hyuugas are the superior clan."

"Don't be so arrogant. She isn't even your child, so that gives you-

"Father?"

"What is it, Rei?" Her father snapped, before he calmed himself and repeated, "What is it, darling?"

"Well, how about I just be an Uchyuga?"

"What?!" Both Neji and Sasuke seethed.

"W-well since you both were fighting, I thought maybe you could comprimise. It's a nice mix of the names and I like it." She stared at the floor, distaught that they both hated her idea..

"So the Uchiha name isn't good enough for you? Fine, whatever." Sasuke turned his back to his daughter.

"Daddy! I..." She was going to apologize for being a spoiled child, that was ungrateful for already having a name. Not just any name either. Her father always told her that being an Uchiha meant being powerful, respected; it was a name people would kill to have.

"That is a marvelous idea." Neji said, glaring at Sasuke, before smiling at the young girl. "We're sorry, Rei. Your father and I were fighting over what should have been left up to you. It's your name, so you should decide." Neji said as he kneeled next to the girl and gave her a hug. After nodding in acknowledgement to Sasuke, he left he room.

"Neji is right." Sasuke grudgingly admitted, turning back around to face his daughter. "It is your name so it is up to you. Did you come up with that by yourself?" Sasuke said giving one of his rare smiles.

"Yeah, I did. Do you like?" Rei said ecstatically, happy that her daddy aproved.

"I love it." Sasuke replied, picking up his daughter and giving her a huge hug. For Rei, that moment lasted forever. It was the best feeling in the world.

From that day on she was Rei Uchyuga. Rei always remebered that day. It was her favorite recollection of her father. It was the closest her father had ever come to saying 'I love you.' Was it sad that that was her best memory she had of her father?

The combined name was not the only mix of clans, Rei had discovered.. She had a perfect mix of the Sharingan and Byakugan eyes. She had decided that this name should also be a compromise, the Bhyaungan. When she activated it her dark black eyes – identical to her father's – would change. The sclera – or white part of the eye – would turn pitch black, while her iris's – the colored part of the eye – would become creamy white, like her mother's and uncle neji's eyes, and expand. Then the pupil – or center of the eye – would split into three, red, teardrop shaped pupils. The three pupils were all spaced around where the center pupil should be, but there was not one When she used her power, the teardrop would spin around in a circle, revolving around the center. As far as Rei knew, none of her siblings had activated any of their powers: a Sharingan, Byakugan or Bhyaungan.

Remembering the converstation, Rei thought of her brother, again. Kaito would understand someday. Father needed them to be strong, and nothing was allowed to stop them from achieving greatness - especially not petty weaknesses, like emotions.

* * *

Tell me what you think. First of all, Rei, is not going to do an Itachi and kill everyone. One she's not strong enough and second she idolizes her father.

Kaito will be in the spotlight the most out of all the OC's. Who should instruct Kaito? Ino, Naruto or Kiba?

All of the Rookie Nine, Gai's Team, and the Sand Siblings are in their mid to late thirties. Tsunade would be around seventy. Yes, I think she would still be alive, especially with her age reversal jutsu.

By the way, I'm sorry for those of you who don't like the Sasuke/Hinata pairing. That's not really one of my favorites either, but this entire story spawned from the idea of the Bhyaungan. And the only way to do that would be Sasuke/Hinata or Sasuke/Hanabi. I do not know anything about Hanabi and a Hyuuga/Itachi peairing was even wierder.

As I stated before the chapter I need some help thinking of the teamates.

Gaara, Kakashi, Naruto and Kiba should have bigger roles next chapter. And anyone else you want, of course.

What other pairings should their be? I'm looking for someone to be with Gaara, Neji, Naruto and Shikimaru in particular, but I don't want to pair them up with OC's.


	2. Dawn

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

Kaito yawned as he rolled out of his bed. Today was the day he would officially become a Genin of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. When he remembered that, he suddenly felt a huge surge of energy. Glancing over at his clock that read 5:00 am, he realized he got up way too early, and that he had at least two hours to kill. Sighing, he leaped out of bed and decided to check to see if either of his sisters were awake, while he still had his amazing mood. 

"Did you sleep in your clothes, again?"

He jerked around to see, Rei, leaning against the wall, staring at him with a raised eyebrow. It seemed she had come to him, not the other way around. Kaito chose to ignore her and instead walked into the bathroom to take a shower. He had changed his mind; sisters were too annoying to talk to in the morning. She would probably find a way to pummel his magnificent morning into the ground.

"Wait." Kaito stopped and sighed. He silently turned to face her, motioning for her to continue. "I just wanted to congratulate you on your graduation and wish you luck with whatever comes next for you. I have the official Jonin ceremony today, so I won't be able to see you until this afternoon. Later, bro." With that, she grinned, walked down the stairs and out the door.

He knew it. She killed his mood. It wasn't the congratulations that did it, but the mention of her Jonin promotion. Yesterday he had been extremely proud of her - ecstatic at her promotion - but just now, the realization hit him – hard. She was his measuring stick. He needed to be like her to please dad. Well, actually, father still wasn't thrilled with his sister, but being worse would be his death sentence.

It was true he loved and admired his sister, but he could not help but feel jealous at her good fortune. She was blessed with incredible skill for this new age, while he was stuck so far behind. Even when she congratulated him, she somehow made him feel inferior. If she knew that mentioning the Jonin ceremony would upset him, she would have avoided that subject like the devil to protect his feelings, and that made it even worse. Everything is so much simpler when people are cruel sadistic beasts. Then you would never feel bad about feeling jealous of them.

After his shower re-rejuvenated him, he walked down the stairs and fixed himself waffles with lots of syrup. Kaito and Rei rarely used syrup, because father never used it. Father never forbade sugar – Mother even used to bring some chocolate home all the time when the children were younger – but it was clear he did not truly approve of it. "Oh, honey you're already up. I was just coming down to make a special breakfast for you but it seems you beat me to it." His mother walked in startled to see her son awake.

"I know I'm usually never up before noon but you didn't even check with your Byakugan." Kaito mock sighed, teasing his mother. "Am I that predictable?"

His mother just chuckled with him before changing the subject. "Seriously, I just wanted to say how proud of you I am, again. You're my special little boy." His mother wrapped him into an enormous embrace, squeezing him tightly. Kaito sighed for real this time.

He was glad that people were trying to encourage him, but this was a little much. It was almost as if they realized how pathetic he felt and were going out of their way to offer as much support as possible. He snorted. What a ridiculous thought.

Kaito decided to leave before he had any more stupid 'revelations.'

"See you around, Mom. I'm going to go see Uncle Neji. I mean Neji – err…- Kun? Sama? Shoot I can't remember."

"That's fine, dear. He should be at the western training ground, around now."

* * *

"Hey, Uncle Neji." Kaito greeted as he strolled up to watch Neji obliterate a practice dummy. Kaito stopped on the outskirts of the grounds Neji replied without looking up from his training. "Hello, Kaito. You're never up this early.Was their something you needed?" 

"Nah, not really. I woke up too early, 'cause I was excited about meeting my instructor and all. Didn't want to go back to sleep so I came to find you."

"I see."

For a while, Kaito enjoyed the silence while watching Neji continue to beat the training equipment.

Finally, Kaito worked up the courage to timidly ask Neji a question. "Why," He paused and gulped. This would be awkward. He restarted. "Why, do you and father hate each other?"

Startled at the unexpected question, Neji stopped in mid punch to gaze at the boy with wide eyes. After what seemed to be an eternity to Kaito, Neji chuckled. Seeing Kaito's confused look Neji explained.

"Sasuke and I don't hate each other. I respect him, and I'm positive he feels the same way."

"Then why do you guys argue all the time?"

Neji chuckled again. "Sasuke and I, along with some other Jonin, are…eternal rivals, as Rock Lee would say. All of us make everything into a competition, but as you've seen, some of us take it too far. Both Sasuke and myself hate losing, even in the most inconsequential matters." Neji walked over to Kaito and sat down motioning the boy to do the same next to him.

"You see," Neji continued, "when you get farther along in your ninja career, you'll realize that rivalries are not only common, but beneficial as well. Trying your hardest to surpass a fellow ninja is the one of the greatest motivations in the world. However, never get so caught up in your quest to win that you make stupid decisions. Many ninja regret their actions because of their foolhardiness."

"Is that what happened to my father-"

"I believe that it is time for you to leave. You don't want to be late do you?" Neji interjected, visibly uncomfortable with the topic.

"But Uncle Neji!" Kaito whined.

Neji sighed, cursing his low resistance against the boy. Kaito had a special place in Neji's heart. "Unfortunately, I am not at liberty to have this conversation with you. It's not my place to say. If you want to ask someone who will have to ask your father."

Realizing that he would receive no more information from his uncle, he began to trudge to the academy. The rest of his life was waiting ahead of him, and he might as well get an early start on it.

* * *

Reiji was sauntering down a road of Konoha. He was tall for his age, around 5 foot 8 inches, and had long auburn hair. His dark green eyes scanned the street looking for some sort of entertainment. 

He brought out a pack of cards and began flipping them back and forth, from hand to hand, and whistled his favorite tune. He had no idea what song it was; it was just catchy and he liked it. Grinning playfully at all the pretty girls, he continued strolling down the street. He was a brand new Genin and was on his way to the Academy, hoping to…acquire some useful information, before anyone else got there.

Stealing was a better word. His family mastered the arts of espionage and stealth, meaning that from time to time they extracted a little extra payment from Konoha for their services. He was, also, the top ninja in his class – which did not mean anything – but he still rubbed it in some of the other kid's faces, anyway.

Lost in thought he had not been looking to where he was going, and ran into someone. Both of them fell onto the ground, and Reiji's cards scattered all over the muddy ground.

"Hey, watch it!" He shouted, disgruntled that someone ruined his perfect morning. He was irritated because his long, brown trench coat had mud splattered all over it, now.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going." Kaito said apologetically, brushing himself off as he got up. When he looked down at the person he ran into his expression changed. Reiji was ignoring the other person, kneeling down to pick up his cards. "Oh. It's you. Y'know that is where you should be. On the ground kissing my feet." Kaito smirked.

Looking up he cursed softly. Few people could manage to grate on Reiji's nerves like Kaito could. "Watch where you're going klutz!"

"Hn. Sorry, but I just couldn't see the master of stealth. You forgive me right?" Kaito said in a sickly sweet voice. There was no doubt the kid wasn't sorry at all.

Growling, Reiji shook his head and picked up the cards. Reiji never understood it. He could beat Kaito in everything, except their little verbal skirmishes.

In the beginning, Reiji had tried to be nice to the kid, but scathing remarks were all that greeted him in return. Nothing would deter the kid either. Beating him in sparring only made Kaito even more spiteful. Maybe, it was that their egos were both just so huge they were incompatible.

Suddenly, Reiji thought of what could be the real reason Kaito tried to humiliate him. "You're jealous."

"Huh?" Kaito responded, pretending to not understand what Reiji was talking about.

The taller boy smirked. "That's why you hate my guts, because you're jealous that I'm better than you, the great Uchyuga."

Reiji had hit the nail on the head. Seeing yet another person surpass him caused Kaito to lash out. Like with his sister it was hard to feel jealous if the person was nice to you, so Kaito forced the hatred between them. Unfortunately, nowadays it wasn't so forced. Even though Reiji was right, hell would freeze over before Kaito ever let him know that. So he forced a laugh.

"You wish. Why would I want your skills? All you can do is run and hide sort of well. Who would be jealous of that?"

Scowling Reiji brushed past Kaito and stalked toward the Academy. Maybe he was right or maybe he was wrong, but he right now he didn't feel like arguing with the moron.

When Reiji left, Kaito sighed. He was lucky he had perfected lying, a long time ago.

* * *

Humming, Naruto strolled down the streets of Konoha, looking for something to do. He was disappointed that he would have to teach some snotty punks, but there was nothing he could do about it. As he was lost in thought, he noticed someone was following him. Sighing he just continued wandering the town, hoping they would get bored, since he did not feel like confronting anyone at the moment. 

After a while, the pursuers were still following him, so he quickened his pace. Soon he was all out sprinting to shake his follower.

Finally, Naruto stopped and turned around, exasperated at the ridiculousness of the situation. The pursuer stopped right behind him.

_Fake rocks,_ he thought, looking at a square box, painted to look like rocks. _What's up with that?_

"That's the worst disguise of all time! There's no such thing as square rocks! It's completely obvious!" Naruto shouted at the perpetrator.

"You saw through my disguise, again! You're slick, boss. Just what I'd expect from my greatest rival." Suddenly the box exploded and three, different colored smokes rose into the sky. Coughing, one of them said. "I think we used a little too much gunpowder, you guys." Seeing Naruto glaring at them, the three of them jumped up.

"I'm-"

"I know who you guys are. You're Moegi, Udon and Konohamaru. You don't need to introduce yourselves every single time we meet. What are you guys doing?" a disgruntled Naruto asked.

"Well, boss-"

"Another thing, why do you guys still call me boss?"

"Well, we're not Super Jonin, like you boss. Until, us rivals are equal, you're still the boss, boss"

"Well, I am pretty super." Naruto replied arrogantly. He stopped and looked semi-serious, again. "But since we are officially the same rank, you could just call me Naruto."

"But, our level compared to you, is like your level compared to Kakashi."

Nice Naruto was gone. "What?! I'm way better tha Kakashi-sensei. I could beat him any day of the week." Naruto barked.

"Really, Naruto?" An amused voice asked behind him. Naruto paled, as he began to chuckle nervously.

Kakashi had always been good, even before his Sharingan eye. Yet, he had only gotten better as the years passed. He had mastered the lightning fist fighting style, ranking him at almost Sannin level.

Naruto gulped and slowly turned around to face his former sensei – still giggling uneasily. "Hey, Kakashi-sensei. How are you?" Naruto asked innocently.

"He is sort of right, Konohamaru." Kakashi stated, ignoring Naruto for the moment. "It would be a closer match than most would think, and if Naruto used his…ace in the hole, he would be able to pull out with a win"

Naruto knew exactly what Kakashi was talking about. The nine-tailed fox. Naruto rarely used this power anymore, instead trying to rely on his own fighting prowess. However, certain situations did sometimes call for it. If he ever needed to fight Kakashi to the death, that would be one.

"But, Naruto," Kakashi continued, "how can you blame him for calling you boss, when you still call me Kakashi-sensei?"

Darn him. Kakashi was right, as usual. Naruto crossed his arms and sulked, refusing to answer. Instead, he turned his attention back to the three stooges.

"Yeah, well what are you guys doing here? You never answered me earlier."

"I was going to outfox my greatest rival. We were gonna sneak up on you using this rock box as camouflage-"

"Why do you three use such an apparent disguise? Like Naruto said, it is completely obvious. You guys aren't kids anymore, you're in your thirties." Kakashi raised his eyebrow as he interrupted, mildly perplexed.

"They've always used it, so don't bother questioning it, or else they'll do their acting-dumb-thing. It's annoying." Naruto whispered to Kakashi. "In real fights, they don't fool around like this, though. I hope." The last part he muttered to himself.

Kakashi chuckled. "It's funny hearing you, of all people, call something annoying." Ignoring Naruto's scowl Kakashi cut through any potential rebuttal by saying, "I have to go now, Naruto. I'm already a half an hour late for my meeting with Sakura and Sasuke." Kakashi paused before he asked. "Do you want to go? Before you ask, yes it is at Ichiraku's."

"YEAH! RAMEN! What are we waiting for? Let's go!"

* * *

"Ino-Pig!" 

"Billboard Brow!"

People stopped to watch the spectacle. Two girls had been walking down the street, until they had noticed each other. The two had stopped and stared at the other, when suddenly, they both lunged forward, into one big hug.

"How are you?" the Ino gushed, finally releasing the pink-haired girl.

"Fine and you?" Sakura replied smiling.

Ino sighed. "Ok, I guess. I didn't really want to teach this time around. But it's probably 'bout time, though. I don't know how I managed to not have to do it before – maybe just luck – but my luck finally ran out."

"Aww, I'm sorry to hear that, Ino. But, it's not that bad. I had to do it, a couple years ago, when the hospital wasn't as busy, and my kids were nice."

"I'm not worried about that – I can take anything those kids think they can throw at me – but I'm afraid that I'll mess everything up. I mean, what if I can't protect them?" Ino asked losing her usual self-assurance.

Sakura smiled at her friend. "I'm sure you'll do fine. You're a strong ninja, and I'm positive you won't let any harm come to those little tykes."

Ino grimaced. "Little tykes? What century are you living in?"

"Ino-Pig!" Sakura growled, dangerously low.

"Just kidding, forehead. Don't have a cow." Ino teased. She got serious, though, when she realized something. "Speaking of those kids, I need to hurry to the Academy, or I'm gonna be late. See ya."

"Yeah, bye Ino." Sakura smiled, again, as Ino ran past her. The two still kept their old nick-names and still teased each other, but Ino and Sakura were best friends.

Not knowing what to do Sakura wandered the town for a bit, gazing at all the expensive items on sale. Eventually, Sakura spotted Naruto and Kakashi walking towards her. Naruto was talking animatedly about something, while Kakashi half listened and tried to read his perverted, orange book.

Kakashi looked up and spotted her. "Sakura, over here." Kakashi yelled, sounding relieved to find something to distract Naruto.

"Hey guys. What are you guys doing?"

"We're on our way to Ichiraku's to meet up with you and Sasuke. Why aren't you there? I'm already forty-five minutes late."

"Oh! I almost forgot. Sasuke told me he couldn't make it for lunch, so we're going to get together for dinner. Naruto, you're invited if you want to come."

"Why wasn't invited before, huh?!" Naruto shouted.

"Because you SHOULD be at the Academy by now. So, I'm a little curious why you aren't there now." Sakura replied exasperatedly.

"AHH! I FORGOT! I gotta go!" Naruto started to run off down the street before he stopped and turned around. "Why did you even invite me if you knew you were gonna make me late, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto snapped.

"I forgot about that. Oops." Kakashi said casually, without looking up from his book. Naruto just screamed and ran towards the Academy.

* * *

"Yo, Shino, buddy, what's up? Haven't seen you in a while." Kiba said catching sight of the mysterious Jonin drifting throughout the village. 

"Kiba." Shino greeted.

"Hey, man, I'd been looking for you. I'm going to meet Hinata at Ichiraku's right now and you should come along too. It'll be like a team ten reunion." Akamaru barked beside his master, also wanting Shino to come.

Instead of answering, Shino just started walking toward the Ramen stand. Used to his friend's quietness, Kiba fell in step beside Shino. The two walked in silence the rest of the way to the restaurant. They sat down at the bar and waited for Hinata to show up.

Five minutes later Hinata walked in. "Hinata, over here." Kiba shouted, waving his arms to get her attention.

"Hello, Kiba. Hello, Shino. How are you both?" She asked as she slid into the seat on Kiba's left. Shino, on Kiba's right, answered concisely, "Fine."

"Well, I'm pretty good, except for having to train those kids. Aw, man, that's gonna suck." Kiba growled in irritation. Tossing his problems aside for the moment, Kiba perked up and asked. "So, how about you? You doing good?"

"I have been fine, Kiba. My son, Kaito, just passed his Genin test, and Rei became a Jonin yesterday. They've both grown so much."

"Good for them, Hinata. You and Sasuke ought to be proud. Who knows, maybe the little squirt will be in my squad." Kiba cheered, happy for his friend. When the food came, Kiba began to reminisce.

"It's surprising how much you yourself have grown, Hinata. You used to be a shy, quiet little girl. Now you're a sort of shy, kind of quiet women. That's a huge improvement." Kiba said jumping out of his seat to give her a pat on the back.

Hinata giggled at her friend's silliness. It was true. She still was shy and quiet but much more outgoing than before.

Realizing what time it was, Hinata started. "Oh, I think I should leave now. I want to get to Rei's ceremony early. Thank you both for inviting me. I hope we can do this again soon." Hinata said.

"Aww, man, you practically just got here." Kiba pouted. Shrugging, he turned back to his ramen and smiled. "Whatever, it's no problem. We'll see you later."

Before Hinata could leave, though, a voice stopped her.

"It is surprising." Shino said, startling his two teammates.

"I think that's the most I've ever heard you say at once, Shino. You okay? You got a fever?" Kiba said, mock frowning and putting his hand on Shino's forehead.

"What's surprising, Shino?" Hinata asked quietly, ignoring Kiba.

Shino swatted Kiba's hand away and continued. "How lucky we've been. No one we know has died in a very long time, and none of our closest friends has come even close to peril in a decade. The odds that all of the Rookie Nine, Gai's team, Gaara's team and all of our Jonin instructors surviving this long are slim, at best."

"Well, there hasn't been a lot of ninja activity lately. All of the ninja's have been experiencing a decline in the quality and quantity of their ninja." Hinata stated.

After a few moments, Shino replied. "That is an even scarier thought. It means we may be fighting a battle no one is powerful enough to fight. The extinction of the shinobi is on the horizon and even the strongest of all warriors cannot hope to fight that."

* * *

Author's Notes 

Hmm... looking back I realized how many of them were just wandering around the town. Oh, well, like I said there have been less missions so they're all bored and looking for stuff to do.

Sorry, that this chapter was still introducing/re-introducing all the characters. The actual story SHOULD start next chapter.

This chapter was purposefully vague on what the other pairings were in order to give you more time to decide and tell me.

Gaara, Rock Lee, Temari and Shikimaru are definitely in the next chapter. Especially Gaara. He was going to be in this one but his scene was cut, because it did not fit in well.

Some of you are probably upset that Naruto isn't a god that can beat anyone. He can however beat most people.If he was already at max potential than he couldn't grow at all.

In my opinion, ninja don't hit their twenty's and stop becoming stronger, so Kakashi would keep growing as well. We even see him training by himself during the Chunin exams. In addition, the Sannin probably weren't suddenly the best fighters of their time at 18. They were definitely good, but not the best ever.

The idea for Reiji was shamelessly borrowed from a marvel comic book character. I barely even changed the name, talents or personality. Guess if you can name him.

Finally, I'm slowly introducing the major OC's. When I read some fics they always throw the names and brief descriptions of ten new characters at me in the first sentence. I can never remember who is who. I am trying to avoid that by slowly introducing the major ones. If I'm still going to fast, tell me.


	3. Orientation

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

Kaito decided he had stalled long enough and walked through the large double doors of the Academy. Finding a seat, he slunk into it and plopped his head onto the desk. He was not the first one there. Four of his fellow classmates were scattered around the room. Ignoring them, he searched the room for something to occupy his attention. 

His energy had worn off a long time ago after his collision with Reiji. He clenched his fist as he thought about him. Looking up, Kaito cursed softly.

Reiji had just strut into the room. Spotting Kaito, Reiji smirked and walked up to him. He slid into the seat next time and began whistling that song that somehow infuriated Kaito. Kaito just glared at Reiji, waiting for the boy to explain himself. Reiji ignored Kaito, and kept whistling, seemingly oblivious to the glare he was receiving.

Kaito could not take it anymore. "What are you doing?" He snapped.

"Hmm?" Reiji looked up in fake puzzlement.

Gritting his teeth, Kaito asked, "Why are you sitting next to me?"

"As much as I hate it, I have to." Reiji replied casually, staring straight ahead, while flipping his cards from hand to hand.

"What are you talking about? Stop being vague, tell me what you mean and leave." Kaito's remaining patience had run thin.

"We're gonna be on the same team, so I might as well sit over here. I don't wanna have to move later."

"What do you mean we're going to be on the same team?! They haven't announced the squads yet." Staring at Reiji's conceited smirk, it hit him. "You stole the records didn't you?"

"I prefer to view it as 'acquiring.'"

"How did you manage it? Wouldn't those files be protected or something?"

"Not really. There wasn't any security at all. Believe it or not, the new Genin squad teams are not of utmost importance to Konoha or its enemies." Reiji rebutted sarcastically.

Kaito sighed. He did not feel like questioning the thief. "So who else is going to be on our team, and who's our instructor?" He may not have liked where the information came from, but he was still curious.

"That would ruin the surprise. Just hold your horses and wait a bit longer. You'll know soon enough."

Kaito scowled. He hated it when this happened. Kaito usually came out on top during most of there verbal clashes, but whenever Reiji knew something important that Kaito did not, he would always lose.

* * *

At 7:00, when everyone had finally arrived, Iruka stood up and began speaking. 

"Congratulations to all of you. You are now officially ninja. I trust all of you already have your new photo identification cards?" Seeing all the students nod, he continued. "Now, it is time to divide the nine of you into your Genin squads. Since there is an abnormally low number, there shall only be three squads. Airi Gunma, Ouji Niigata and Yuu Iwate are Squad One, under Ino Yamanaka. Gai's current team is squad two, so we'll skip that number." Iruka paused and marked something on his sheet. "All right, Squad Three is Reiji Touzoku, Lola Gonzales and Kaito Uchyuga, under Naruto Uzumaki. The last squad is number four. Eito Saru, Tae Neko and Fuji Minikui, you will be with Kiba Inuzuka."

Some snickers were heard at the final name called. Reiji smirked. "That last team is crap. 'Monkey-Boy' Saru, 'Cat-Chick' Tae and 'Fugly' Fuji together is the perfect recipe for disaster." Kaito snorted and laughed with Reiji, until he realized whose joke it was. Noticing the sudden glare, Reiji rolled his eyes and looked for Lola.

"Are you two Reiji and Kaito?" Lola asked behind them. _She's hot,_ Kaito drooled.

"Looks like Jessica Alba." Reiji whispered to him.

"Who's that?" Kaito whispered back.

"I don't know, but she sounds hot."

"Yes, we are. I'm assuming you are Lola." Reiji answered for both of them, stopping there hidden side conversation. Lola beamed brightly. She went up to each of them and gave them a hug and a kiss on either cheek. _This girl was amazing, _Kaito thought, as he blushed.

Kaito noticed how well, Reiji was handling everything – not asking any awkward questions or blushing. Therefore, Kaito tried to do the same. "What are you doing here?" There went that plan.

Reiji stared raised his eyebrow at Kaito's out-of-place question. Reiji understood the question, but it was just asked so horribly. Judging from Lola's perplexed expression, it was clear she didn't understand, so he rescued her.

"Sorry, Lola, he means why he's not seen you around much before. She's been here since the week before the tests; remember? Her parents were finally cleared as citizens of Konoha meaning she could officially join our Genin class. Any of this ringing a bell? Iruka explained it all less than a month ago. He doesn't seem to get it Lola; you should explain it all from the beginning."

"You know that last year, the Village in the Mist attacked the Village in the Sun, right?" Seeing his hesitation, she sighed and explained. "The Village Hidden in the Sun was a small ninja village south-west of Fire Country and south-east of Wind Country. Mist attacked it and slaughtered almost everyone. I had been enrolled in the Academy, so when my parents moved here as refugees I just picked up where I left off."

"So that's why your name is funny, you have a weird accent and you had that bizarre greeting." Kaito said, comprehension finally hitting him.

"Sí. Pero, pienso tus nombres son locos." Kaito just stared again. _Please tell me I do not have to have a girl who spouts gibberish on my team,_ He thought.

"That was Spanish, my native language." She explained reading his face. "I was only saying that had you lived in Sun, you too would have a strange sounding name and accent."

He changed his opinion of her. He did not care how beautiful she was, she was starting to bug him – and Reiji. Reiji's bored expression practically screamed that fact.

Kaito rolled his eyes. "Don't preach to me. That's so annoying; I get enough lectures from my parents you don't have to help them out." Kaito said. Reiji desperately tried to hide his snicker. Luckily, Lola did not seem to notice. Either, she was really oblivious or good at hiding her anger.

In actuality, she was horrible at hiding her anger. Luckily, for Reiji it was all focused on Kaito.

"Yo, my brats meet me at the Northern Training Grounds. Y'all better be there in five minutes." A Jonin with a hood yelled out, before he suddenly disappeared.

"Mine go to the Eastern Training Grounds." A blonde kunoichi shouted before she too vanished.

The six Genin in question left the Academy in a hurry.

"Wait! Where is our instructor?" Lola asked. Kaito sighed at the distraction. Not too many moments later a loud crushed resounded throughout the school.

"Errr… Anyone know what that was?" Reiji inquired.

He was answered by a screaming blonde ninja racing into the room. He stopped and panted, perceptibly exhausted. He exhaled deeply before straightening and grinning. "I'm not late!"

"Actually you are. I announced the teams fifteen minutes ago. Keep this up and you'll turn into Kakashi." Iruka said, before he too left the building.

Naruto sighed and turned to look at three pairs of eyes staring blankly at him. He rubbed the back of his head and gave the three a huge grin. "Oops. Oh, well. So you guys are my squad right?" Only three nods answered him. "Well, that's cool. Uh… now what should we do?"

_Is this guy for real,_ Reiji thought. _He's pathetic. I bet even Fugly Fuji could beat this loser._

"Oh, right. We should introduce ourselves. I'm Naruto; I like Ramen and I'm gonna be the Hokage someday." Naruto gave the Genin a huge thumb up. "Now, you, in the trench coat, tell us about yourself."

"My name's Reiji Touzoku. I like poker and pretty ladies. I collect various different decks of cards. I've got a huge family that actually originates in another country – I never cared enough to find out which one. We live in New Orleans."

"Where's that? I've never heard of it."

"It's not a ninja village. New Orleans is a civilian city; my family just… oversees it. It's only about twenty minutes for a ninja to get there."

"All right. Do you have anything else to add?" Naruto nodded as he absorbed the information, and asked.

"He forgot that he's a filthy thief." Kaito added, speaking for Reiji. Naruto just raised his eyebrow at the boy.

"Since you're so eager to answer, Kaito, why don't you tell us more about yourself. I already know that you're Sasuke and Hinata's kid, but what else?"

Kaito gasped in surprise. He had never seen this man before, yet he knew who he and his parents were. "Wait, are you that Naruto my dad talks about sometimes?"

"The one and only. As he most likely told you I've been gone for a while, so I haven't really been able to see you."

"Whatever. Beside that, uh…my bloodline is sort of forming. I mean I can kind of sense where people are and things seem to move a little bit slower. It's only a matter of time 'till I get my Bhyaungan." Kaito exclaimed in a falsely cheery voice. He knew that the changes had been so slight he had barely noticed them.

"That's good. Lola, we already met when you moved here, so need to go through that again. All right, since the boring stuff is out of the way, we can do the cool things. Now, normally the next thing that would happen would be a test, to see if you are truly able to become Genin." Ignoring the shocked looks, Naruto continued. "However, because of the few number of Genin that managed to squeak by the exam this year, you all have to pass."

The three sighed in relief. "But, I'm going to do it anyway, just to see what skills you three already have. So get up and get moving. Follow me!"

* * *

"What is the exercise, maestro?" Lola asked. 

"Me and you guys are–"

"I believe you mean: you three and I." Lola corrected.

"You three and I are going to play a fun little game." Naruto said patiently, showing no signs of irritation at being interrupted. "See these?" he asked holding up two shiny bells. After seeing three nods, he continued. "You're job is to try and get these bells from me."

_No problem. My dad always talked about dead last. This guy must be him. This'll be too easy._

_After seeing this guy smash through the academy,, it shouldn't be that hard. However, I doubt it was fluke becoming a Jonin. I'll have to be careful._ Reiji contemplated. _Either way, there has to be more to it than this._

"What's the catch?" Reiji asked.

Naruto smiled and shook his head. "Lucky for you, there is no catch – when I did this, the two that could get a bell were the only ones allowed to pass. Without motivation, though, this'll be boring. So, the one or ones who don't get a bell, has to repair and clean the Academy, this evening."

_Repair and clean his mess, he means. _Reiji thought, scowling. _I won't lose._

"Everyone ready? Good. Go!"

Three forms dashed into the trees.

* * *

_At least, they know how to hide. _ Naruto mused. _I can still find them, but after that meeting the Jonin had, I thought they would all trip over their own feet._

Naruto yawned and put his hands in his pockets, choosing to stand under one of the bigger trees.

"HA! GOTCHA!" Kaito yelled, as he dropped from the tree kicking at his sensei.

_Just as I thought, Kaito is overly confident and predictable. That's a dangerous combination._

All the teacher did was move his head slowly, to let the kick fly past. Kaito recovered quickly, spinning around and launching a sloppy punch at Naruto. Again, Naruto casually sidestepped – hands still in his pocket. When, Kaito had almost passed him, Naruto brought his knee up forcefully.

Kaito rolled to the side, down on his hands and knees, and spat blood out, feeling more dribble down his chin. He turned and glared, gritting his bloody teeth.

"All right, time to end this." Kaito yelled. He leapt up and began a jutsu. Naruto blinked, in surprise, as he recognized the hand-signs Kaito was performing. _Impressive._ _I didn't think these kids were skilled, enough to use that,_ he contemplated.

"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!" Kaito inhaled, ready to blow out a huge stream of fire. Suddenly, he started sputtering and coughing, falling back to his hands and knees. Smoke began pouring out of his mouth, as he struggled to breathe.

Watching the spectacle, not knowing what to do Naruto asked, "Um…are you okay?" He scratched the back of his head confused.

"Oh, god." Kaito croaked. "I think I burnt my lungs. I'm-" Another cough jolted his entire body. "I'm fine. Just give me a minute." He said wearily.

_Forget what I thought earlier. They are bad._

_That was pathetic. Funny, but pathetic. _Reiji thought. _He did give me an opportunity, though. What do you know, that pest did something right, for once._

Kaito had almost recovered when he felt a Kunai whiz by him. "Jesus Christ! Where the hell did that come from?" He yelled, wondering who was throwing them at him. A split second later, he realized Naruto was the target of all four – one had just missed - terribly. Immediately the first four finished their flight, hundreds more shot out of the surrounding forest, coming every direction.

Naruto dodged all easily. Effortlessly, moving as little as possible, Naruto was never even close to being hit. Kaito was not so fortunate. The Genin scrambled in every direction, trying to avoid the never-ending torrent of throwing weapons: shuriken and kunai. Frantically dashing towards the edge of clearing, he was dismayed to learn that Naruto was sticking with him, keeping Kaito in the thick of the fray.

_Interesting. Reiji is bouncing the butt ends of the kunai off the surrounding trees. While it does make him harder to find, – since the angle of the throw coming toward the target is misleading – it also, greatly lowers the accuracy of the weapons. In order to make up for that, he throws as many as possible at once. That would be fine, except, that one of his squad members is right next to me,_ Naruto mused.

"STOP! I'M DOWN HERE, TOO!" Kaito shouted, waving his hands to make sure the person saw him. He immediately ducked when a shuriken flew over him, and sprinted towards his safety, again.

"REIJI, YOU'RE A BASTARD! I KNOW IT'S YOU, SO QUIT IT!"

Naruto seemed oblivious to the conflict only moving when necessary, maintaining his bored expression. Reiji saw this and increased his effort, desperate to hit his instructor. He could not let Kaito leave either. Naruto seemed to be sticking with him for some reason, so Kaito had to stay out there, too – for the greater good of course.

Kaito was almost home free. There were only a few more yards left to go, when, suddenly, an explosion rocked the ground in front of Naruto and him. Naruto, skipped backwards, avoiding the blast. However, Kaito was thrown sideways into the lake – dazed. His mind was so numb, he could barely move.

Naruto finally moved his hands from his pockets. He jumped towards Kaito, intending to save him from drowning.

Reiji smirked. Everything was going right as plan. As soon as the explosion had gone off, he threw three kunai at Kaito, knowing his sensei would end up over there. As he watched, the kunai speed toward their target, he dropped to the ground ready to retrieve his bell.

All Naruto did, however, was spin his body face up, parallel to the water. He kicked the first kunai over him, twisted to avoid the second one, and caught the final one, throwing it back with one hand. With his other hand, he picked Kaito up as he passed over the boy. After grabbing Kaito, he flipped in mid-air and landed on top of the water.

Reiji widened his eyes. He had underestimated the man, and it had cost him. He started to run back into the woods to try again, but before he had taken his second step, everything went dark.

* * *

Lola had seen it all. Reiji and Kaito had been taken down easily. Naruto, with Kaito slung over, one shoulder had appeared right behind Reiji and knocked him unconscious with a strike to the back of the head. Her instructor, then, moved them both to the middle of the clearing and laid them down face up on the soft grass. 

Slinking father into the little foxhole that she had found, she desperately hoped he would not find her. She watched as Naruto sighed and cracked his neck. Gasping, she saw him disappear and looked around anxiously, trying to find him.

"Are you gonna hide in their all day, or come out and fight me?" She did not respond. Instead, she gulped and climbed out of her little hideaway.

Turning, she saw him. His hands were back in his pockets, and he smiled gently at her – trying to put her at ease. "I can't beat you in hand to hand combat and I don't have any special jutsu, except one." She replied glumly.

"Well, just, use that one."

"But it's horrible. It barely does anything."

"I'll be the judge of that. Besides, I could care less if it's crap."

"The phrase actually is 'I couldn't care less,' because if you could care less than that means you care at least a little bit…" Seeing his bored expression, she continued with the former topic. "All right, I'll try it."

After pausing and taking a deep breath she yelled, "Solar Flare!" while using a strange hand-sign. Both her hands were fully flexed and held in front of her face.

A bright light flashed around her, for a second. Unfortunately, it was not nearly bright enough. It only forced Naruto to squint a little to look at her.

"You were right, that did suck." Naruto said bluntly. Noticing her crestfallen expression, he quickly added, "But if it was dark, I'm sure it would have been a whole lot more devastating. I mean, train with that some more and it could be pretty handy in a tight spot."

"You really mean it. This could be an amazing jutsu?"

_Definitely, no time soon._ "Oh, yeah. It's only a matter of time." He said with a cheesy, big grin – obviously fake. She did not notice however, so Naruto continued. "For now, just go wake those two up. It's time for us to have a little chat."

* * *

When the three of them were awake, Naruto asked a question. "What was the point of this exercise?" 

Silence was all that greeted him. Reiji was sulking, upset that he lost; Kaito was exhausted and still a little woozy from his messed up jutsu and nearly drowning; while, Lola, was lost deep in thought over how to improve her dismal performance.

Not feeling like having to coax an answer out of them, he just told them. "Teamwork." Reiji flinched; he knew he had not been the epitome of a team player during this little activity. "Frankly, you were all horrible."

"Lola," he said, turning to stare at the girl, "you just hid in your little hole, while Kaito was pounded into the ground, and only when I forced you to come out were you willing to attempt to fight. Had this been a real mission, the enemies would have killed you while you thought you were hidden away." Reiji glared at the girl. He did not tolerate cowards.

Naruto turned toward the Uchyuga. "Kaito, you rushed in blindly without planning with your teammates – or any plan whatsoever, for that matter. Then you tried to push your limits, by attempting a jutsu you've never successfully used before in a combat situation. Never, try new things in a life or death situation. It will usually result in your death."

Finally, Naruto glared at Reiji. "You were by far the worst. You threw weapons at me without any regard for Kaito, who was obviously too close to me to allow for a safe throw – at your level, at least. Then, you decided that accidentally almost hitting him wasn't enough and aimed, that explosive card right in **his **path – not mine. It gets worse, though, when you blew him into the water, you used him as bait. If I hadn't taken gone in to help Kaito, he would have died!" At the end of his lecture, Naruto was seething.

Naruto took several deep, calming breaths, before he began again. "Someone once told me, that those who broke the rules are scum, but those who abandon their friends are worse then scum. Now, apologize."

"Sorry, Kaito." Reiji muttered.

"Hmm… look at that. I still have both bells. Guess, that means all three of you lost. Have fun fixing up the Academy. Meet me their tomorrow morning. Now, you guys are dismissed." Naruto was gone in a flash.

* * *

I was not really that happy with that chapter, but I don't care. If it's really bad, I'll just repost it later. 

Just because I used New Orleans as a place, does not mean I've forsaken the Naruto Continent. It's still the same as the show's geography only this city thrown in. New Orleans is, however, exactly like its counterpart, before Katrina. If you have never been to Cajun Country you should; it is a cool place.

I lied, again. For any Gaara lovers out there, he is definitely in the next chapter. These parts in here, just took precedence, that's all.

If you don't find Lola annoying, then I'm not trying hard enough.

I realize I 'borrowed' another idea: the solar flare. Except, that it is a much weaker version. I just thought that since Lola was from the Sun Village, that would be a good power for her. I guess I need to say I do not own Dragon Ball either.

For those of you who thought that I was kidding about how bad these kids are supposed to be, I hope this proves that I was truthful, for once.

Maestro means teacher in Spanish if you did not already know that.


	4. Calm Before the Storm

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

"That's enough!" Kiba shouted. "You guys were horrible!"

"Well, you're a Jonin; we're only Genin. We had no chance of winning." Saru said, panting.

"Look, monkey-boy, trust me; I know that. You could've done a lot better than that, though. All I did was step back and let you three collide. Only two minutes we've been doing this and you already lost – horribly!" Kiba said, exasperated.

Shaking his head Kiba continued. "I don't got the patience for this, right now. Go do whatever the hell you want. Just, leave me alone." With no other words, Kiba stalked away leaving the three Genin, staring glumly at the ground.

"That went well." Tae said cheerily, attempting to lighten the mood.

"No, it didn't. We screwed up big time." Saru sulked. "And it's all your fault, Tae."

"What? My fault? How?"

"You kept arguing with him. You wouldn't shut up about how you thought cats were better."

"Well, I'm a cat-master what did you expect. My family is going to kick his doggy butt."

"No, they aren't, because the can't. You're family tries to pick fights with the Inuzukas, all the time. You've never won once, or even come close to winning.

"Next time. Next time, we'll get them. Anyway, it's not my fault. I did fine during the actual fight – at least, the same as you."

"You are correct. During the battle, it was Fuji – not you – who let us down." Saru agreed, staring pointedly at the final member of their squad.

"Sorry guys." An obese girl with red pigtails apologized.

"It'll be fine, once you fix the problem." Saru responded.

"Don't be so hard on her." Tea defended. "She-"

"We need to keep up with the other Genin, meaning she needs to keep up with us. I do not wish to die in the field because she did not put enough effort." Saru interjected

"You are just like those other guys," Fuji whined. "Calling me 'Fugly Fuji', and a fat ass, and retarded and a worthless piece of--"

"It does not matter what others say about you. I could not care less what your reasons were; just as long as the problem is fixed – soon." Saru interrupted, before walking away, in the direction their instructor had left.

* * *

Kaito trudged home, after his mini quiz with Naruto, dismayed that he had done so horribly – not even able to land a hit.

"Defeat comes to every ninja; that is inevitable. How you handle the loss, is what determines the true strength of a ninja."

"Hey, Uncle Neji," Kaito mumbled, not looking up. He snorted wryly. "It's not like I'm not used to losing, though."

"And that will make you stronger."

"I was so sure I was going to win, though." Kaito complained.

"Underestimating opponents will undoubtedly cost you victories."

"Are you training to be a Wiseman? What's with all the sagely advice?"

"Do not change the subject. I have heard that your trainer is Naruto. Is this true?"

"Yeah."

"Feel fortunate. Though, he is an amazing ninja, his true strength lies in his mental resilience. If anyone should teach you how to be a ninja psychologically, it should be Naruto."

"Why?"

"You make a habit of asking the wrong people certain questions. If you wish to know ask Naruto, himself."

Cursing his cryptic Uncle, Kaito tramped the rest of the way. He was exhausted after his beating and fell asleep the second he fell into his bed.

* * *

Walking into the Jonin lounge, Naruto saw Kiba and Iruka sitting in two La-Z-boy chairs. Making his way over to them, he came into their conversation mid-way.

"Man, Iruka, you weren't kidding. These punks are horrible. One, seriously, could not throw a shuriken." Kiba laughed remembered the fat girl missing her target by a couple yards.

"Are you sure Kiba? Mine weren't nearly **that** bad, and I have the dead-last." Naruto asked as he plopped onto a large cozy couch.

"Well, yes, as a whole they are pretty bad. Nevertheless, Kiba, you had even more unfortunate luck, than the other instructors did. You see, you were placed with the team of complete dead weights." Iruka told them.

Kiba stood there his mouth agape. "Wait," Naruto, said, "I have the number one rookie, Reiji. Shouldn't that mean I have the worst, too? Either, Kaito or Lola?"

"Normally it would. Except we decided that instead of giving all three teams horrible chances of surviving we put the best six on one team, and stuck the remaining three, together." Ibiki said, as he entered the room. "Lucky, for you, Kiba, you shouldn't have to be an instructor for that long."

"That's total bullshit!" Kiba yelled. "What is wrong with you, sending an entire squad to its death."

"He's right. Being stronger than others doesn't necessarily make them more worthy of living than those weaker than them. You should've divided the strongest members amongst the group, because that's what the strong should do: protect the weak!" Naruto snapped.

"In a perfect world, you may be right. However, it is not that simple. If we had split them up, all of them had a **much** less chance of surviving. Think about it, what is better, three Genin dead and six alive, or all nine dead? Of course, there's still the chance all nine die anyway, but there odds are more in their favor now."

"You can't use only cold hard reason when dealing with the lives of others. It's-" Kiba growled.

"On the contrary, cold hard reason is much more efficient. Emotions and other weaknesses only lead to more deaths. You've been a ninja almost twenty years; it's past time you learned that lesson."

As Ibiki srolledout the front door, Naruto shot out of his seat, stalking out an opposite exit.

* * *

"What do you do when you look at the clouds?" Ino asked Shikimaru, as she found him under an oak, gazing at the sky. "Do you look for shapes? Ponder the meaning of life?"

Shikimaru sighed, taking his time to answer. "The point is I don't do anything. I just relax, clearing my mind from all the annoyances I have in my life."

Ino was qiet for a second, repecting Shikimaru's wish for silence. Finally, she burst. "Wanna ask how my day went?"

Groaning, he replied. "No."

"It was great." Ino chirped, ignoring Shikimaaur's repsonse. "My squad is exceptionally skilled – better than I thought at least – and very well behaved. Their teamwork is excellent. But, I'm still nervous I'll mess up. You believe in me, though. Right?"

Silence was all that answered.

"Shikimaru, are you considering me one of these annoyances you need to clear from your head?" Ino asked dangerously low.

"No, I am not. That was your cue."

"Huh? Cue for what?"

"You're way too stressed, right now. Just sit back and watch the clouds."

"That's silly." Ino wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"Do you have anything better to do?"

"No," Ino grudginly admit. Sighing, she sat next to him under the great oak tree.

Ino and Shikimaru watched as the clouds floated through the heavens, as the sun sank deeper past the mountains, as the sky colored red, as the moon and stars came up lighting the serene, still night sky.

000

"Where's Kakashi?" Naruto asked, as he walked up to Sasuke and Sakura at Ichiraku's Ramen Stand. His two friends were seated at a booth talking animatedly. Well, Sakura was animated, while Sasuke was only a little more animated than usual.

"Late, as usual. Why did you even bother asking?" Sakura responded, scooting over to let Naruto sit down.

"Just making conversation." Naruto shrugged and turned to the server who had just walked up.

"Hello, my name is Oprah, and I'll be serving you tonight. I already have your friends' orders but what would you like?"

"Five bowls of miso ramen, please. After that, we'll have to see."

"How can you still eat so much? I understand when you were a kid you had a growth spurt, but now, how?" Sasuke asked, watching disgustedly, as his friend devoured bowl after bowl of noodles.

"He's still a kid. Naruto never has and never will grow up. I don't know whether that's good or bad."

"Thanks, Sakura." Naruto paused to cheer, before inhaling more ramen.

"Yo." Kakashi said, appearing next to the table.

"You're late!" Sakura said casually. Naruto tried to say it too, but he ended up choking on his ramen. Kakashi hit his back, fixing the problem, before he sat next to Sasuke.

The accusation had lost its significance over the years. The only reason it was said was for a nostalgic ritual. It had become too ingrained in the two over the years, the neither could not wanted to stop yelling 'you're late' at Kakashi.

"As I was walking up a really big hill on my way here, I tripped and rolled all the way down, forcing me to start all over again." His excuses had not changed either. Still ridiculously absurd.

"So, Naruto, now you'll finally know what I had to deal with as a teacher. Good luck. You'll need it."

"Oh, come on, it can't be that bad." Kakashi just stared blankly at Naruto with one eye. Naruto moaned. "I'm so screwed. These kids will be the death of me."

"No, you'll be perfectly safe - physically at least. You just can't go on any harder mission for a while." Kakashi replied, pulling out his novel.

"That's my point. I'll die of boredom by the end of the first month. It'll be a nightmare." Naruto groaned and hit his slumped his head onto the table.

"These kids need someone to care for them; you should feel honored to be apart of their youthful growth, Naruto." A voice shoutedfrom behind him. The entire restaurant had their eyes fixed on the table, with the strange man with green spandex standing by it.

"Hey, bushy-brows," Naruto said without picking his head up. "'Scuse me for not caring about their growth… but I don't."

"That is very selfish," Kakashi said, still not looking up from his book. "I remember someone who was upset because I trained Sasuke during the Chunin exams and not them. Just because you are no longer a student, doesn't mean education is no longer important."

"Look who's talking you did not want to teach us. You were bored as hell, same as me!" Naruto yelled, picking his head and jumping on the table.

Ignoring the finger of accusation pointed at him, Kakashi clarified. "I may have been bored, yes, but I did care about it. That's one of the reasons, I left the ANBU and became a regular Jonin."

"Are you sure it's not because ANBU is a joke, nowadays? They went from elite to little more than police officers. Their ranks are made up of Chunin who want to take on extra missions while preparing for the Jonin exam."

"You know, as well as I, that the ANBU was at its peak when I quit."

"See, Gai-sensei's greatest rival, Kakashi, understands its importance so you should, too."

"Rock Lee? You're still here? You were so quiet I thought you left." Naruto said climbing slowly back into his seat.

"Yosh! Yes, I am still here, but for no longer. I am needed by Gai-sensei. I only overheard your conversation and thought that you needed to be shown the truth about the youthfulness you must bring you students. I shall see you later." Dashing away, silence echoed throught the stand.

After the huge scene caused in the Ramen Stand, other families slowly started resuming their conversations that had been interrupted by a weird blonde man jumping on Oprah's table.

"So," Sasuke finally said to break the awkward silence that had enveloped their table. "You are my son's teacher?"

"Oh, yeah, I almost forgot. Yup, I am. He's a cool kid, you and Hinata should be proud."

"I wanted to watch his practice test that he had with you. Howver, I went to Rei's ceremony. Did you do the bell test, Kakashi did with us?"

"Yeah, they were all ok. Definite room for improvement, but after what Iruka said, I thought they couldn't even throw a punch."

"How did Kaito do?"

"He was reckless and cocky, and rushed at me first chance he got. First thing I need to do, is teach him to use his head."

Sasuke growled. "I've run through millions of scenarios with him, how could he react so harshly."

"He probably only underestimated me. I made a mess in the Academy and they thought I was a joke."

"That's even worse to hear. You are a Jonin, he should know that no one becomes a Jonin by fluke. Few survive the process to become Chunin and fewer still live to be Jonin."

"Don't be too hard on the kid." Kakashi interjected. "I know you desperately want Kaito to be a great ninja, but being harsh may not be the best way to go about it."

"Hn. I'm going home to talk with him about his day." Jumping over Kakashi, Sasuke walked out of the restaurant.

"Hey, Kakashi, how come you have never seen Kaito or Rei? You should meet them, since you were Sasuke's teacher and everything. I saw them around six years ago, and they were cute little kids."

"I've met Rei, and I'll meet Kaito when the time is right. I've got to go too. See ya." Kakashi disappeared in a poof of smoke.

Blinking at the abrupt exit, Naruto turned to the only other team seven menber still there besides him. "Well, Sakura, guess it's just you and me, what do you want to talk about?"

"Who do you think would win: the third Kazekage or the first Hokage?" Sakura asked, setting on a inconsequential topic to help them both relax.

* * *

Gaara never slept. Insomnia plagued him for his entire. Sometimes, it had its privileges, like being able to catch up on all the work that he had to do as Kazekage. Most of the time, however, it was an unbearable burden. It gave him too much time to think. It gave him too much time to remember. It gave him too much time open old scars, every single night.

Night after night, the grave was where he always ended up. He tried to avoid it, but an indiscernible force tugged him – forced him – there every time.

Gaara never knew where he wanted to be. Some nights, he was stuck in the past, remembering all the times they had had together – reliving every memory ingrained in his mind – both good and bad. Others he wished for the future. His memories were hated haunting of what he could never have, ever again.

"You changed me." He whispered to the grave.

Part of him wished that it would answer him. Wished he could hear her voice one more time.

Smiling wryly, at his how hopeless such a wish was, he plopped onto the ground, sitting cross-legged. After he set his large gourd next to him, he stared at the grave, dismayed to find that he could not form the words he so desperately wanted to say.

Gaara looked up and smiled. "A full moon is out, tonight. They used to drive me insane – literally. I was a mad killing machine driven by an insatiable lust for blood. I've mellowed out over the years thanks to you, and all the friends I gained."

"If my old self were to see me, well, I would have probably laughed at the fool, I became. But, now, I'm not so sure. Is it better to have loved and lost, or never loved at all?"

He paused, still hoping for an answer. He sat in silence, pondering his rhetorical question to himself. The moonlight bathed him and the grave, completely. So lost in thought he did not hear tiny footsteps echoing through the crisp, night air. A snap of leaves brought Gaara out of his musings.

"What are you doing, here? You should be asleep." He asked briskly, no nonsense.

"I had a nightmare, daddy. I can't sleep."

Gaara smiled. "Come here. I'll read you a story to sleep. Is that okay?" A nod was all that answered him, as she fell into his arms.

Picking the girl up, he turned and looked back at the grave once more.

"Bye-bye, mommy." The girl whispered, before sleep took her, again.

Smiling, Gaara made up his mind. Loving and lost may hurt, but without love the little miracle in his arms, could never have been. He and his daughter disappeared in sand, leaving the night silent as the grave.

* * *

The fourth chapter is now done. I would appreciate any reviews thrown my way. If any of you care the title will be changed to Generation Now, on December fourth (12/4/06).

That was either InoShika romance or friendship; you tell me. I couldn't find a canon character for Gaara to be paired with, so I made an OC. I did not want to have to make a whole back story, so I killed her.


	5. Missions

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

"Scrub, Scrub, Scrub. Scrub, Scrub, Scrub. Scrubbing is good for you." Naruto sang off key, as he skated down the soapy hallway.

Kaito sighed. Squad three had been there for hours mopping up the Academy floor, and Kaito was sick of having to do all this work.

At least it counted as a mission. Naruto had explained to them when they started that this was their first D-rank mission, and even if they had never bet on it, they would still be doing it.

"Wait, even if we had won we'd still be forced to clean this up?!" Kaito had asked, when Naruto had said that.

"Nope, had you guys managed to win, I would have done your mission for you and it would've counted as yours. But, since you didn't manage to come close to touching the bells, it doesn't really matter."

Naruto may have been a nice man at other times, but, right now, he was grating on Kaito's nerves. As Kaito was slaving away over one stubborn stain, Naruto was having the time of his life occupying himself with any and every thing imaginable. Gritting his teeth, he realized his jealousy was riling him up again. He just had to stay calm.

"Wooh!" Naruto did an electric slide all the way down the hallway, splashing soapy water all over Kaito. He just had to remain calm.

"Oh, sweet, I can slide down the walls too. Wooh!" More water splashed Kaito, but in his face this time. He just needed to stay calm.

"Now the other wall. Wooh!" Water drenched Kaito, again.

"Oh, now I'm gonna do the ceiling. Wooh!" Soaked for a fourth time, he groaned as he heard a crash.

"Oops. I was having so much fun; I forgot to concentrate for a second. Huh, oh well. Looks like you guys need to redo over here, though. It's all messy again." Calm. "This is boring. I'm gonna go find something cool to do. You guys stay here and don't kill each other. Don't forget after this hallway, you still have to do the Eastern and Main hallways. See ya." Naruto disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Kaito lost it.

* * *

Reiji sighed as sweet silence reigned once more. Kaito had had a little temper tantrum, kicking thewater buckets, throwing the brushes, yelling, screaming and cursing at the world in general. Reiji couldn't take it any more – and Lola had stopped working to quiver in fear – so he knocked Kaito unconscious.

"Get back to work, Lola. I'm not doing all of this myself."

"Sorry, Reiji." Lola paused for a second and gulped, working up the courage to tell him something. "You shouldn't have done that. We could've just talked to him."

Reiji chuckled. "Maybe we could've, but my way was infinitely more fun." He responded, before snapping at the girl. "Now stop talking and work. I don't want to be here any longer than necessary with you losers."

The two toiled in silence, concentrating solely on their task. Around ten or twenty minutes had passed before Kaito woke up. Groaning, he hoisted himself upright. Watching the other two hard at work, he sighed grabbed his brush and joined them silently. Though Kaito appeared calm, he was seething within – a fuse ready to blow.

* * *

Watching the clouds, Shikamaru sighed contentedly. Life could get no better for him. Reaching over to grab some orange soda, he found that the bottle was empty. _How troublesome. This always happens, _Shikamaru thought, sighing. Never bringing enough drinks to last his entire cloud watching session interrupted it every time. He needed to find a way to get refills without spoiling his relaxed mood.

* * *

"Lord Kazekage, sir."

"Yes, Baki, what is it?" An annoyed voice responded.

"It's the twins. They're on a rampage again."

Gaara groaned. Those little monsters were up to it again. The nine-year-old twins were the bane of his existence. Kimimaro was a much more desirable opponent than these creatures. Even Naruto's energy paled compared to those… things.

"GAARA!"

He took that back. No one could out-annoy Naruto.

"What is it Naruto? What are you even doing in Suna? Wait hold on a second. Baki deal with them." Seeing Baki was about to retort. "I have very important…Kazekage things to do, so I'm afraid I can't deal with this at the moment. Go get Temari. She's their mother, so she should have to deal with them." When Baki saluted and left – never dropping his scowl – Gaara turned to face the blond pest.

"How did you get here?"

"It's only twenty minutes for a super fast ninja, like myself."

"What are you doing here, anyway?"

"Nothing really, I'm just checking up on my favorite Kazekage." Naruto said with his hands in his pockets, gazing at some speck on the floor that he was kicking with his shoe.

"You're going to try and pester me for missions aren't you? I told you last time the leader of SUNA cannot give missions to a ninja from KONOHA. At least, not without the Hokage's permission – which I doubt you have or you wouldn't be here. Now, go away I…" Gaara stopped. He could not believe he hadn't thought of that before. Now, he could kill two birds with one stone. Gaara smirked. "Actually there is something you could do for me."

"Really?" Naruto perking up. Naruto crouched down about to spring in the air and shout 'yeah!'

"No jumping in my office."

Naruto froze in mid take-off. "So what is it? A super, cool, S-ranked mission?" Naruto asked stars forming in his eyes, and drool staring to flow as he got right in Gaara's face.

"Umm…yeah. This is super, cool mission is so dangerous it's unranked. In addition, this will be kept off the records. Meaning you're not getting paid. First, find Baki and tell him that I sent you to relieve him. He will explain your mission to you. Now, go." Before Gaara even finished speaking, Naruto was gone. Gaara smirked. He did not know who would win this one, but either way he would have one less nuisance.

Gaara chuckled. As much as he pretended that Naruto annoyed him, they were close friends. However, he really did have work to do and could not have any distractions, at the moment.

* * *

"All right kiddies, C'mere." Kiba yelled to his team. "We got our first mission. You guys are gonna wash the Hokage's faces. Two hours is all I'm giving you, so it better be done by then."

Three simultaneous groans could be heard by Kiba. Smirking, Kiba continued. "You think that's bad, you just wait. I'll give you guys six to eight hours of sleep a night. Then, all time that you are not sleeping or on missions will be spent training non-stop with me. You will have at least two, thirty-minute meals, sometimes three if we have extra time." Kiba checked his watch. "Better hurry up; It's only one hour and fifty seven minutes, now."

Scrambling to leave, Fuji, Saru and Tae sped off to complete their mission.

_I'm not going to prove you wrong Ibiki. These kids are not going to die; I won't let them,_ Kiba thought walking slowly after his team.

* * *

"Hey there Baki. You're the one giving me my mission briefing, right?" Naruto asked the Sand Jonin.

"What?" Baki asked, refusing to give into false hope.

"Gaara said I was to relieve you or something." Naruto said off-handedly.

Staring into the heavens Baki, prayed. "Thank God." Returning to the business at hand, Baki became professional once again. "All right kid, we have a special matter we need you to deal with. It requires a lot of subtlety. Think you can handle that?"

"Of course. I am mister tact. Nothing gets by me." Grinning from ear to ear, Naruto couldn't wait to start on his cool new mission.

"Good. We need you to deal with some miniature monsters."

Jumping into the air with excitement, Naruto yelled out. "Monsters?! That's so cool! Lemme at 'em!"

"However," Baki continued, ignoring the jumping blonde. "No harm whatsoever, can be imposed upon these child monsters or else you'll have to deal with an angry Mommy monster. Not fun, Naruto; not fun."

"Baki, did you just call me a monster?" A dark, feminine voice asked Baki behind him.

Shaking his head vigorously, Baki answered. "No, I didn't. I said…uh…fun…ster. Yeah! There mom is a funster, because she's so full of fun!" Temari did not believe him, but looked amused enough to let it past.

Naruto, however, would not. "Wait, Baki. I thought you said monster."

"No, Naruto." Baki said gritting his teeth. "I said FUNSTER." Baki hoped the blonde man would catch his tone.

"Oh. OH! I get it. Yeah, Temari, he said Funster." Naruto said grinning hugely and winking in Baki's direction.

_Is this kid really that dense? Or does he only pretend to be stupid to annoy everyone around him? I guess it would be fun._ Temari thought.

"You wanted to see me, Baki?" Temari said, returning to the earlier topic.

"Yes, you're twins are at it again. Lord Kazekage wants us to deal with them."

"Oh they're so cute. I'm gonna go see if those two are having fun. Bye Baki."

Baki sighed. "This always happens. We try to get her to help—since she's the only one they listen to—but she just goes to see 'if they're having fun.'"

"I thought you said I was fighting actual monsters. These are just kids." Naruto pouted, feeling ripped off.

"They may look like normal nine-year olds, but these things are the worst monsters I've ever seen. Don't let the giggling fool you; they're evil. There two blocks west; your mission is to stop the chaos." With his final words, Baki disappeared, leaving a confused Naruto.

* * *

"Kaito, what the hell are you doing?" Reiji asked, his voice dripping with venom.

"Cleaning the glass." Kaito replied, not looking up.

"You've scrubbed the same spot for ten minutes. Are you retarded or do you just love cleaning that much? You know, you should quit being a ninja and be a housewife."

"That's gross dude. Imagining me as your gay 'housewife'? I always knew you were a queer. Maybe you're actually a woman, that'd explain why you've got such long hair." Kaito threw back at Reiji, his fusing shortening.

"Kaito, Reiji, you two shouldn't fight like this--" Lola tried to intervene before things got ugly.

"Shut up, Lola. I'm just going to show Kaito how of a man I really am." Reiji grinned evilly at Kaito.

* * *

Iruka had been grading papers in the Academy for a while. Yawning, he looked up. _This is so boring,_ he thought. _I suppose I can take a little break. Naruto is watching his team so nothing should happen. _Iruka ran out the door, hoping to get a table at a restaurant before the lunch crowd hit.

* * *

Roaring Kaito threw himself at Reiji, hoping to wipe that infuriating smirk off his face once and for all.

* * *

I'm not anti-gay or a homophobe, but most straight guys do not like being called gay, so Reiji would definitely take that as an insult.

Some of you may have noticed the chapters getting shorter. That is because I'm running out of ideas. I know where it will go eventually, but I need to show a lot of time between then. If you have ideas of what you want to happen, PLEASE review and tell me.

Also, I need a Mary Sue check. Tell me about the OC's in this story. Are they Mary Sues? Jerks? Annoying? Each character needs character flaws—and lots of them. If you feel a certain character does not have enough tell me.


	6. Teamwork

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

Naruto surveyed the battle scene he was crawling closer to in the Sand Village. He hadn't spotted anything he deemed a threat yet, but it was only a matter of time. As he slowly sneaked toward the designated location, someone stopped him.

"Hey there, Naruto. What are you doing here?"

"I'm on a mission, so I can't be distracted, now, Kankuro." Naruto exclaimed, still slowly inching closer.

"Oh, that mission. No wonder Baki looked so happy. Look, we barely talk much—we're not exactly the best of friends—so why not talk why we have the chance. I think Gaara will understand if the mission isn't completed five minutes earlier."

"Fine. What did you want to talk about?"

"How's life going for you? Anything new and exciting?"

"Yeah, I got a new Genin team." Naruto said, while feeling bored.

"How're they?"

"They're a cool bunch of kids. Their teamwork is a little shaky, but they won't kill each other."

* * *

Kaito rushed in blindly, lashing out his right foot at Reiji's ankles. Reiji jumped up, sprang off the wall, and punted Kaito's face. Flipping backwards from the blow, Kaito slipped on the soapy water and slid out onto the Academy Training Area. Spitting, mud and blood out of his mouth, he narrowly avoided a shuriken that followed him out of the building.

Landing in a crouched position, ready to spring at any moment, Kaito inspected the surrounding forest. He knew that by now Reiji had already nested himself into one of the trees.

Scanning the area, he could not find his target. No other weapons had been thrown, making Kaito wait in suspense. Sweat started oozing down Kaito, as his eyes frantically darted from tree to tree.

Suddenly, a shuriken flew at his head and he bent backwards, letting it fly over him. Jumping sideways, he weaved between hundreds of kunai coming from all directions. Bobbing, ducking, dipping, and diving through the score of kunai and shuriken, he sprinted towards the edge of the clearing, hoping to hide and strike at Reiji's possible vulnerable points.

His luck finally began to run thin as a kunai grazed his cheek, and then another sank into his shoulder, followed by one into his leg. Ignoring the pain, Kaito continued to run, dodging even more weapons thrown at him.

Until, finally, a shuriken sliced into his stomach, causing him to bend over, gasping for breath, as blood leaked through his fingers.

All the weapons had ceased whizzing around, as Kaito fell onto his knees.

Gritting his teeth against the pain, Kaito took off his white undershirt and used it to bandage the stomach wound, binding it tightly.

Footsteps resounded behind him, causing Kaito to turn and throw one his own shuriken at the insufferable jerk. Reiji only casually ducked, avoiding the object, and then rolled out of Kaito's vision.

"You had enough." An arrogant prick breathed into his right air.

* * *

"Three hours!" Kiba roared. "It took you lot three hours to wash the Hokage monuments."

Kiba shook his head. He had thought that he might have been too generous giving them two hours to finish. Most people could have probably done it in one, solo.

"Fifty laps around the Stadium, followed by one hundred push-ups and two hundred sit-ups, rinse and repeat until sundown. It's only around two o' clock, now, so you should get plenty of exercise. Go."

"Wait, Kiba, sir. What stadium?" Tae asked timidly.

"The one where the Chunin exam finalists fight in front of the villagers; the only stadium we have. Now, run around it. I expect a good number of sets of these to be done by tonight."

Sighing, three Genin set off to start their first lap. Fuji soon fell behind the other two, too slow to keep up.

"It'll be ok Fuji," Tae told the other girl, as she fell back beside her. "We'll run them with you side by side, and so will Saru." Saru sighed in exasperation, but slowed down his pace to stay with the two kunoichi.

Fuji smiled tentatively, afraid they would speed off any moment—that they were only joking with her. Seeing them stay even after a few minutes, Fuji whispered, "Thanks."

"We're teammates and friends; it's the least we should do." Tae replied, grinning in return.

* * *

Lashing out to his right fist, Kaito hoped to hit the other boy while he was close, but his hand felt only air. Kaito yelled, partly in frustration and partly in challenge, "I'm still in this game! Don't count me out yet! I'm shut the egotistical mouth once and for all!" While Kaito struggled to stand up, Reiji backhanded Kaito across the face. The Uchyuga flew over the training area, scraping the ground as he landed before he finally skid to a stop.

"Sure you are." Reiji rebutted sarcastically, as he chuckled. "You can't even get up, let alone still fight me. Just give up; it will be easier for you this way." Kaito lifted his head off the muddy ground and pushed up with his arms, straining his muscles to lift himself up.

Before he could rise anymore, a hand shoved his face back into the ground, breaking Kaito's nose.

"I don't get you, Kaito. I tried, but I just can't. You think you're tough shit--you think you can beat me, but whenever the chance comes up you barely last more than two seconds. I easily crush you without trying, every single time. Some, Uchiha you are; Daddy must be so proud of his little failure."

"Shut up. You think that you're tough shit, too, yet you hide in trees throwing things at me. That's how a squirrel would fight." Reiji yanked Kaito up and held him by his collar staring him straight in the eyes.

"Funny, if you want to think like that, you've lost to a squirrel. Throwing things is all I need to do to beat you, but if you want I'll kick you're ass in a 'fair' fight, as well. No weapons, ninjutsu or genjutsu."

Kaito grinned; there was no way he would lose to a Reiji when the coward couldn't hide.

"Tomorrow--" Reiji continued, until Kaito interrupted him.

"Right now." An exhausted Kaito panted.

"What? Are you crazy? I've already beat you today. I mean you're still bleeding from…everywhere."

"No. Right here, right now. I've waited **so** long to finally kick your ass; I'm not waiting any more."

Reiji sneered. "Your funeral, little man."

When Reiji let go of his shirt collar and stepped back, putting a few yards between the two, Kaito only smirked. This was his chance, and he was going to enjoy it.

* * *

"You three are doing great," Ino screamed. Her Genin squad was currently trying to retrieve a cat that had climbed a very large spruce tree.

One hundred plus feet into the air, Yuu was inching farther out onto a frail branch, stretching his hand to catch the missing tabby cat. Suddenly, an abrupt snapped echoed throughout the woods, as the limb snapped in half.

Yuu screamed, as began to plummet toward the ground, until Airi grabbed his foot. She was hanging from a tree with her legs wrapped around another—stronger—branch. Ouji reached out snagged the falling cat, grinning sheepishly.

"Ino-sensei, we're done." Ouji yelled down, glad the mission was finally over. He was deathly afraid of heights.

"Good job team. Come on down and let's get that cat back to old lady Bielli."

When they were on the ground, Yuu turned to his kunoichi squad member. "Thanks for catching me. If you hadn't I would've been a goner."

She smiled. "No problem."

* * *

Kaito rushed forward, again, blindly lashing out with a strong—but sloppy—punch. His opponent sidestepped, catching the fist, and flipped Kaito over, slamming him into the ground.

Kaito rolled forward immediately, jumping away from a drop kick that connected with where his head had been.

Lola had finally worked up the courage to come out of the Academy to see what the two boys were doing. Horrified at a bloody Kaito, and an evilly grinning Reiji attempting to kill each other, she desperately attempted to prevent the scuffle from continuing.

Waving her hands to get their attention, she yelled, "Kaito, Reiji, this isn't right. Stop fighting, please."

Both combatants ignored her plea, as they flung themselves at the other again. Kaito sent punch after kick after punch again sailing at the trench-coat-wearing boy, but Reiji squirmed away from every blow utilizing his speed and agility.

"We're a team. Teams don't kill each other; they work together." Lola yelled from the sidelines, trying to work up the bravery to physically stop them.

Every counter attack that Reiji threw wailed into Kaito's body, staggering him time and time again. Tiring, Kaito urgently commanded his body to stay upright.

"Naruto-sensei said that those who abandon their friends are worse than scum." Lola pleaded, again.

As Reiji tripped Kaito onto his face, he laughed. "You're making the dangerous assumption that we are in fact friends. Kaito and I hate each other. You aggravate me, Lola. And Kaito is too focused on trying to be the strongest to care about anyone, especially a coward like you. None of us are friends and none of us ever will be."

Kaito, ignoring the conversation, hauled himself onto his hands and knees, only to have a foot meet his face with a sickening thud. Flung into the air, Kaito seemed to float, suspended above the muddy earth. Until, Kaito felt Reiji grabbed his foot and smashed him headfirst into a splintered oak. Twisting around, Reiji slammed Kaito into a huge rock formation.

As Reiji drove Kaito's face into one of the large boulders—grinding it against a rough, jagged edge—Reiji snickered with glee. This was more fun than he had had in years.

* * *

"You sure about that? I remember my old squad days. Temari and I lived in constant fear that Gaara would turn around and kill us one day. You need to make sure you fix any potential problem before it rockets hopelessly out of control." Kankuro said, wincing as he thought about the old Gaara.

"Relax, Kankuro. I think it's more like Sasuke's and my old relationship. We were rivals and we may not have liked each other, but we didn't try to kill each other. We only were extremely competitive, trying to beat each other at everything. Sasuke and I weren't going to kill each other." Naruto replied off-handedly, unconcerned that anything serious would happen.

"Until he stabbed you in the back. From what I heard, it started like what you said, until it gradually worsened, spiraling out of control. Eventually, eating contests become all out brawls, and then he betrayed Konoha, trying to kill you as he left for more petty power."

Angry, Naruto began yelling. "What do you know about it? He came back, didn't he--?"

"Whoa. Whoa. Calm down, Uzumaki." Kankuro intervened, holding his hands up as a sign of surrender. I'm only trying to say don't let this little rivalry escalate too far or you may regret it."

* * *

"Now, stay down." Reiji said as he kicked the already downed Kaito. "I put up with your lip for far too long. I let you mouth of to me way too much. My fault; I should've done something like this sooner. Now, we know once and for all who's better."

Lola seeing how badly injured Kaito was, rushed over to help. When she arrived, she kneeled down next to him, asking if their was anything she could do. Kaito seemed oblivious to her presence, focused solely on the retreating back of Reiji.

* * *

"You're right," Naruto sighed, standing up. "I'd better go back and check on them. I'll be back to finish this mission for Gaara a little later. He'll understand, won't he?"

"Don't worry, man. I'll explain everything to him." Kankuro said, as Naruto disappeared in a flash, racing back to the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

* * *

Reiji sauntered away, seemingly without a care in the world. He was almost inside the Academy doors, when Kaito's rage exploded, once again. He grabbed one of the kunai that littered the ground and threw it straight for the back of Reiji's head.

Reiji turned and caught it with ease. Without any facial expression, he nonchalantly chucked it straight back at Kaito.

There was no way he could dodge it, he was too exhausted and beat up, while the kunai was rushing at him too quickly. Thinking on instinct, he grabbed the nearest object and held it in front of him, hoping to shield himself from the weapon.

He gasped in surprise when the object he used to block with, screamed in agony. Letting the object go he shakily rose to his hands and knees.

He saw Lola writhing on the ground in agony, bleeding profusely where the kunai had sank into her back.

* * *

This was another kind of short chapter, because nothing light hearted was meant to eat up too much of this more serious chapter. My content was limited to more serious tones, or showing the polar opposite of the teamwork in Kaito's team.

I realized I backed myself in to a corner last chapter; because I rushed it out too soon. I gave Temari kids without resolving whether it would be InoShika or ShikaTem. I could give Temari another dead OC, like Gaara had, and decide all this later. What do you guys think? Also, the twins vs. Naruto would not have been a good backdrop for this chapter because Reiji vs. Kaito was far too serious for that too have worked. So, that will happen in later chapters.

I realized that I made it so that Saru is the kid's last name. Oh, well, just think of him like the kid everyone calls by their last name. Everyone has at least one at their school.

Someone complained about the spacing; I agree it is annoying I'll try to fix that. Lola, has not had much character development compared to the others so she may get her own chapter in the future. Some think she's already annoying and others think she hasn't enough lines to tell, so I'll be working on that.

Does anyone want to see Rei, Rira, or the inside of the Uchiha complex, again? Neji should pop back up, again, also.

Please comment on any aspect of the fic you want. Flame it if you want. Any criticism will just make this better.


	7. Repercussions

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

* * *

Naruto landed right out front of the Academy. _It's weird how quiet it is. Eerie. I expected Reiji and Kaito to be yelling at each other, able to be heard from miles away, _Naruto thought. As Naruto pushed the door open, it creaked loudly in contrast to the former deafening silence.

"Hey guys, I'm back." Naruto looked around, startled to find how empty the hallway was. _What the hell?  
_

"Kaito? Lola? Reiji? Anyone here? Iruka?" Naruto yelled, his voice reverberating off the walls, as he strode down the hallway. Continuing to follow the path Naruto became more and more uneasy. Finally, he arrived to where the three had paused in their labor. Soap buckets were upturned, spilling the wet contents all over the floors and walls. More disturbing, however, was the slight tint of red in the water, which grew more and more noticeable as Naruto followed the trail to the outdoor training facility.

When Naruto walked out the double oak doors, he was stunned. Shining red blood soaked the ground, with kunai and shuriken strewn around the red soil, most of which stained maroon from use. Blood covered the large rocks; blood covered the tall maple trees; blood covered the weedy grass; blood covered the single ripped cloth floating from one end of the field to the other.

The once white cloth, now tarnished red, was once part of shirt. Snatching it out of the air, Naruto gazed at it.

"What have I done?"

* * *

** Earlier  
**

While both Reiji and Kaito were still frozen in shock at what had just transpired, Neji burst into the clearing. The man's Byakugan was activated, as he glared at two of the three Genin.

"What happened?" A voice as cold as ice asked, obviously displeased with the scene he arrived to find. Lola still writhed in agony on the ground, shrieking with pain.

"A sparring match just got a little out of hand, Uncle Neji. While we were fighting a little mishap-" Kaito began, hoisting himself up to his knees, before Neji interrupted.

"We shall discuss this later. For now, all of us need to get this girl to the hospital." Neji stated, still devoid of all emotion.

"Is it really bad?" Reiji asked, with an uncharacteristic amount of uncertainty in his tone. Maybe Reiji was intimidated by the pulsing eyes, or maybe genuine concern and guilt tainted his thoughts.

Ignoring the boy, Neji eased Lola up into his arms, trying his hardest not to aggravate the wound. Knowing that it would be best to get her to the hospital as fast as possible, he disappeared in a flash, certain the other two would follow.

The uninjured Reiji began to follow, slowly behind--in no rush to get to the hospital--after Neji left. Yelping with pain, Kaito dragged himself to his feet. Wincing after each step as he ran, Kaito followed right behind Reiji.

* * *

"She'll make it laddie, don't ye worry nothin' 'bout that." A large, doctor with a long fiery red beard told the threesome. The Irishman was certainly losing his Battle of the Bulge, and had braided locks of hair running down, past his shoulders. A pipe hung from his mouth as he looked over his notes about his newest patient.

"What happened?" Kaito asked. "I mean why did the kunai do so much damage?"

"Compared to when ye took one in the shoulder and kept on fighting? Well, this one hit a major artery leading directly to the heart. The lass nearly died, however, ye were fortunate enough to get her here on time, even if ye shouldn't have moved her." As the obese Irishman finished speaking, he took out his pipe for a moment to blow a perfect smoke ring.

"So," Reiji started slowly, "It was all just bad luck? That was the problem: a once in long while fluke?" If anyone else had asked that, their voice would have almost sounded like pleading—desperate to know the answer. Nevertheless, this was Reiji; he never lost his cool.

The doctor chuckled, his pipe bobbing with the man, a deep rumbling from the belly—but not from mirth. This chuckle was dry and coarse, laughing at the farcical question. "No, no, no. My, dear boyo, ye have flipped things up. Yes, 'twas unlucky that the weapon hit a major artery, but it only partly severed it. Had it been cut anymore there would have been little we at the 'ospital could have done by the time the lass arrived. In addition to that, lad, a couple inches over and it would have gone straight through her heart—killing her instantly. If anything boyos, you were pretty damn lucky." The man had waved his pipe around with such vigor, to illustrate his point, he had extinguished it.

"Why wasn't she taken to a medic-nin? No offense, but they are much better at healing patients."

The older man waved one of his hands, clearly dismissing any potential offense; the other held his pipe as he relit it. "None taken, laddie. Over the last ten or so years, there's become a shortage of ninja medics. Thus, all of them special ninja healers are far too busy to deal with most patients. They only take the worst cases, and, while Lola definitely wasn't doing well, it was within our capabilities as normal doctors to fix it. The lass should be transferred to a medic-nin soon. Since she's a ninja, they'll want to check up on her before we clear her."

"Dr. O'Dea," A nurse yelled, as she wheeled a stretcher in. "We have another patient we need you to check."

Dr. O'Dea sighed, and muttered, "Ever since we opened this damn clinic seven years ago it's been packed every hour of every day. I swear one of these days I'm gonna need to get me sleep." Taking a long drag on his pipe, the doctor walked away, ready to deal with another patient.

Neji watched as the man left, before turning to look at the two boys with dispassionate eyes. "Follow me," was all he said, as he turned and walked outside of the hospital.

When they were far enough away from the surrounding public, Neji railed into them. "What do you think you were doing?"

"Like I said, Uncle Neji, we were just sparring."

Neji's frown tightened into a scowl. "Do you take me for a fool? I told you Kaito, my eyes see everything. I witnessed most of your fight; I saw you two beating each other in hand to hand with my Byakugan and thought nothing of it, until Reiji ground your face into a boulder. I was a few miles away so it took a few minutes to arrive, so I was unfortunately not able to avoid this catastrophe. I know most of what happened I only want to know the why."

Reiji finally spoke to the cold ninja. "Heated tempers managed to flare after being cooped together after a few hours. It spiraled out of control, sir, I did not mean to cause any harm to either of my teammates. My father is expecting me home; may, I leave?" Reiji asked politeness and courtesy oozing from his voice.

"Go." Was all Neji said, so Reiji bowed formally and dashed away.

Kaito sputtered indignantly, "B-but, he's--"

Neji interjected. "I know he was lying; that was obvious."

Kaito stood there, mouth agape, in shock, before he exploded in anger. "WHAT?! You're just gonna let him leave like that? Are you out of your mind?"

Neji stood there stoically, waiting until his nephew finished his rant. When the boy finally did stop, Neji continued. "I let him go because hi not my nephew. I care nothing of him; he has no value to me. You however, are of my blood, and thus, I can--and will--punish your indiscretions. Likewise, I will not tell his parents, because, again, he is none of my concern."

Kaito humbled, knowing his uncle was correct. "I'm sorry, sir. I should not have started the fight today. It was wrong of me to do so. I willingly accept my punishment." Eyes staring downward he winced, preparing for the axe to fall.

"For now, just know that you are treading on very thin ice. I'll give you a more definitive punishment later. Before you ask, yes, your father will know about this."

Kaito groaned. That was the worst punishment Neji could have done to him. His father would not care about how the fight was started and maybe not even about Lola's tragic mishap. But, when he learns about how Kaito got his ass kicked—horribly. Kaito shuddered and refused to think about it.

"Not all bad things came from this, though." Kaito raised his head in confusion. "I did manage to witness your fight, so I know what you'll need to work on. Meet me tomorrow in the training field; we shall discuss it more then. Now, you need to go home. Your mother is probably worried about you."

"Yes Uncle Neji. I'm leaving, right now."

* * *

As the two boys left, Neji spotted an anxious blond rushing to the clinic. Heading him off, Neji called out to the other man.

"Naruto! Come here."

"Sorry, Neji, I don't have time-"

"Kaito and Reiji are safe, and Lola will be fine."

"You know what happened? Tell me!" Naruto yelled as he darted over to Neji.

"It seems Reiji and Kaito got into a fight. Both are fine—even if Kaito may be sore and in need of a little patch up." Neji said downplaying Kaito's injuries a little bit. "Lola, however, is not faring so well. She tried to stop the fight and was hurt in the crossfire. The only thing I don't know is where you were during all of this, Naruto."

Naruto stared at his feet. "I got bored, so I went to Suna, hoping to find something cool to do."

"I know you never wanted to be a sensei," Neji snapped, "but the fact is you are one. Thus, you have certain responsibilities to them. One is not leaving them alone when they are doing a mission."

"Kakashi never helped out during missions-"

"I'm not saying help them do their work, but to oversee your squad as **they** do the work. Your sensei always watched over you three—whether you saw him or not."

"But it'll be sooo boring just watching them do stuff."

"Then find something to do. All of the other Jonin all ready have. Kakashi has his book; Asuma finds pleasure in smoking; Gai can give youthful speeches for hours on end; and Kurenai just seems to have infinite patience. Learn from them."

"You're right, Neji. I shouldn't have left them. Guess at heart, I've still got too much of my irresponsible side. Funny, I taught you to change your fate, and now you're gonna turn right around and teach me responsibility." Naruto gave a dry chuckle, and even Neji broke into a small smile.

"One last thing before you go. Would you mind if someone were to give Kaito private lessons on the side, along with your teaching?"

"Sure, of course I don't mind. Why would I?"

Neji smile widened minutely. "I forgot you haven't been around recently. There have always been instructors who have their students learn their way and only their way. I knew you would allow it, but in recent times, it has become necessary to ask the Jonin instructor to give extra side training. Even clans cannot train their children in their unique styles without the permission."

"Why? That's ridiculous!"

"Konoha—like all villages—have had fewer ninja so in order to meet the number of Jonin needed to teach the Hokage had to lower the original standards. In order to keep these men here teaching, she must give in to most of their wishes."

"But parents can't teach their kids. Why would the people not want them to learn styles like the Gentle fist or Shadow possession?"

"Because some of them are so arrogant their students must fight like the teacher. Ebisu was similar to many of these before he trained you—though even he was not quite so disagreeable. If parents can't teach techniques before they graduate, they have to wait until they child is a Chunin, and they join ANBU to complete hereditary training."

"Well, that's stupid. Go ahead and let anyone you want teach Kaito. I'm going to go tell Lola's parents its okay for them to teach her, too, along with telling them one of their daughters is in the hospital."

"I must speak with Sasuke." With a flash both Jonin leaped in opposite directions.

* * *

Sasuke meditated in front of the fire in his house. The sun had almost finished going down, stretching the shadows of the furniture to abnormal lengths. A knock on the door startled Sasuke out of his relaxation. Grumbling he stood up and strode purposefully toward the door. Swinging it open, he was not surprised to find Neji on the other side.

"Good evening, Sasuke." The longhaired man greeted pleasantly. Stepping aside to let Neji in, Sasuke returned the greeting.

"I came here to speak with you about Kaito," Neji began. "I witnessed the boy in a fight today, and thought that he could use some side training."

"Was he victorious?" Sasuke asked. Seeing Neji shale his head, Sasuke sighed and asked, "What desperately needs improvement?"

"A few things stood out to me—some easy to fix others more difficult. One, his taijutsu form is very sloppy. He has the power but not the finesse. Third, his lack of jutsu make him a very one-dimensional fighter. That is harder to fix than most of the others, but the least pressing issue of these four. Second, he loses his head every single time. He has no plan or strategy; he only rushes in swinging, feeding on his anger. He is a smart boy; he just needs to calm down and think. I honestly have no idea how to teach them this so he'll use it in real battles. Finally, he needs a lot more speed. His quickness is decent, but since he doesn't have power, or jutsu to rely on, he'll need to be fast."

"You are right. Those problems need immediate addressing. I'll try and arrange for Rock Lee or Gai to help with his taijutsu and speed, while-"

"Actually, I thought you could teach him those things."

"Rock Lee is the best taijutsu specialists in Konoha. The boy should work with them; it makes much more sense."

"Rock Lee is not Kaito's father."

Sasuke did not reply for a minute; instead, he chose to glare at Neji for a few moments that seemed to stretch endlessly.

"I copied the taijutsu from Lee. It makes more sense to go straight to the source, and since I am the boy's father—as you mentioned—I'll decide who trains him. Thank you for telling me this, now please leave." Sasuke muttered through clenched teeth.

Neji's eyes narrowed slightly, before he dashed away into the night.

* * *

Sorry this was a boring chapter, but next time will be more interesting (I hope). This chapter was also rushed out a little, so please pardon any mistakes. Sorry, for any Irish stereotypes that may offend.

I just got the game Bully for PS2, so I might not update for a while. Any ideas you have for me, you should leave in a review or Fan fiction PM me.

I'll explore where Lola's family lives next chapter. I realized in these seven chapters that I've only progresses the story three days. Shoot, I'm going to need to do a montage eventually.

In addition, I will eventually explore what Kaito, Naruto, Lola, and maybe even Reiji think and feel about this little disaster. How does Kaito feel about losing, and pulling a girl in front of him as a shield? Does Reiji care that this little thing happened? Will Lola forgive either boy? Is Naruto going to be responsible from now on? No one knows (except me).

For all you Rock Lee fans, rejoice. He now has a bigger part than showing up at a restaurant and saying five lines. Yay! Gaara and Temari will show up again one day. As will Kiba and Ino.


	8. New Problems

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

I am sorry that I have not updated for a while, but this chapter was giving me trouble. I did not like what I had been writing, so I was forced to restart multiple times.

I finally decided that I was taking too much time, and forced myself to write something. It seems a little disjointed and rushed, but it was the best I could do for now. Perhaps later I will re-update it, and improve upon it.

* * *

"I'm sorry, sir; you have my condolences. However, it could not be avoided." 

As he lit a cigar and stuck it in his mouth, he appeared calm, but there was no doubt that he was seething on the inside.

"Who did it?" He asked blowing out a stream of smoke.

"No one did anything, sir," Naruto explained respectfully. "It was a training accident."

"You t'ink I stupid, man?" The older man snapped at Naruto as he stood up. "I heard you the fuckin' first time!" Calming down a little bit, the older man chuckled and raised his hands as a sign of peace. "All I wanna know is the name, man. No harm can come from that, can it?"

"No, but there is also no reason you should know it. Her injury was an unfortunate accident, but an accident, nonetheless." Naruto replied, starting to get a little angry that this man would not accept that.

"How I know that there ain't gonna be no more of these…accidents? Huh?" Scowling at Naruto's stubbornness, Lola's father was losing what little patience he had left.

"Look. I've got things under control. Don't wor-"

"Don't worry, man? You serious?" The man took the cigar out of his mouth and glared at the blonde ninja. "My daughter -- mi hija preciosa – is in the hospital with what may have been injuries that caused permanent damage. Maybe I would be less concerned if you can tell me where you were during all this."

Naruto looked a little embarrassed, but he would never admit his weakness to the other man. Before he could reply, the man continued.

"I am fucking Antonio Gonzales. Don't fuck wit' me, man." Tony exploded into a fiery rage. "Now, tell me the name of the cocksucker, who dared to fuck wit' mi hija."

"They will be dealt with appropriately-"

"They?" Antonio asked as he interrupted Naruto.

"-but by the appropriate authority," Naruto continued, ignoring his interruption. "Now, if you don't mind I have important matters to attend to. This is your daughter's exact location." As Naruto stood up to leave, he handed his student's father a paper with the room number and other credentials that Antonio would need to know to see her.

Antonio Gonzales glared at the retreating back of Naruto Uzumaki.

"Ernie, get the fuck over here."

"What is it, Tony?" An almost chubby man, with a thick black mustache answered.

"Find out who dared to touch my daughter. Nobody fucks wit' Antonio Gonzales' family and gets away wit' it. Nobody."

* * *

Reiji sauntered down the street, his head held high. Winking at all the pretty girls and flipping cards from one hand to the other, he was not in any hurry. Though he seemed relaxed on the outside, inside his mind was in turmoil. 

_My dad might flip out when I get home. I know exactly what he's going to say._ Reiji contemplated his return to his father's mansion. There was no doubt in Reiji's mind that his family knew exactly what happened already. His father seemed to know everything that happened in Konoha.

As he slammed the door behind him his father's voice rang our from behind him. "Do you know how close you were to her heart?"

Reiji winced at the iciness that he heard. He was right; his father said exactly what he though he would. "Sorry about that father."

"One more millimeter and you could have killed her. It would have been your fist kill."

"But, Father, I had not intended to kill her. If I was going for a kill she would have been dead."

"Again. Why does she still live?"

"Excuse me father, but would it not be wise to kill someone besides a warrior of the leaf village, let alone one of my squad mates."

Reiji's Uncle, Marius, chimed in. "So he didn't get his first kill today brother, so what? He'll have plenty of time to get one soon."

Still speaking in the eerily calm, yet slightly angry tone, Reiji's father spoke again. "When I was half his age, I had my first kill. He is behind and must be brought up to speed soon."

"Don't worry about that, Jin. In fact, I've got it all covered. Two weeks from now, Lord Waki will be returning from his little vacation with his wife. He recently broke one of our contracts; instead, opting to find someone cheaper. We don't like that Reiji, not at all. You are going to go show him how much we don't like that."

"Um… I appreciate the offer-"

"He accepts." His father intervened. "Marius, I am too busy to prepare him, so I expect either you or Henri to do it in my absence."

"Of course, Jin." Marius said, bowing to his brother as he escorted Reiji out of the office. "In two weeks, Reiji, you will finally become a man." His Uncle said cheerily, giving him a huge grin.

* * *

Gaara looked up as a Baki ran into his office, slamming the door behind him. Gaara stared at him, waiting for him to explain himself. Panting, Baki began clarifying. "We won." 

"What?" An obviously confused Gaara asked. "What did we win?"

"The battle," was all that Baki replied, still catching his breath.

Gaara was beginning to get annoyed. "What battle? What are you babbling about?" He snapped.

"Temari took her kids home with her. Apparently, her twins had dressed in expensive dress-up clothes, and during their rampage had a mini mud fight."

Gaara sighed. He should have guessed Baki was talking about those kids—it's all Baki ever talks about anymore. "Why are you obsessed with a nine year old boy and girl? All I ever hear you talk about is them, and everything you do say is blown way out of proportion. You're not going senile, are you?"

"No, I am not senile or will ever be senile." Baki bristled. "However, I'm getting old, and need something to keep me occupied. Maybe if you let me go on more missions, this would not happen."

"None of the missions I have received seem to suit your particular talents."

"Don't lie to me, Gaara. You think I'm too old to do any of the missions. The last one you gave me was a B-rank! You don't think I can handle it anymore, and that's…ageism."

Gaara stared solemnly at Baki. "You're right."

Baki blinked in surprise. He knew that had been the reason, but he expected the Kazekage to give excuses.

"You're right," Gaara repeated. "I have been neglecting your prowess; you are still perfectly capable of completing missions. I have used you as a crutch for far too long. When I needed advice you were who I went to—you are still who I go to—but I need to respect your wishes as well."

Baki bowed low. "Thank you, Kazekage. When shall I begin?"

"Take this mission. It's an S-rank, and I expect it to be completed in one week's time from when you begin. Take three days of prep. Should you require a squad, one will be provided."

Smirking, Baki grinned, his silver hair glinting in the sun. "I work alone."

"So be it." Gaara smiled gently, not for his soldier, but for a friend. "See you upon your timely return."

* * *

"Lee." 

"If I can do not three-thousand sit-ups, then I must complete three-hundred laps around Konoha." Rock Lee shouted to no one as he continued his sit-ups.

"Lee."

"One-thousand eight-hundred and twenty four. One-thousand eight-hundred and twenty three."

"Lee!"

"One-thousand eight-hundred and twenty five. One-thousand eight-hundred and twenty six."

"LEE!"

"Ahh!" Rock Lee yelled, as someone startled him out of his workout.

"Lee," Neji began again, sighing that he finally got the other man's attention. "I need to speak with you."

"Hello, my eternal rival, Neji! How are you feeling today?"

"Fine. I need your help."

Rock Lee gasped. _Neji needs me help? Oh, happy day! If only Gai-sensei was here to see this—my moment of triumph. The day I finally bested my rival. _Lee thought.

"You need to train my nephew, Kaito," Neji continued.

_Err…_ Lee thought. _Yes, I am a better teacher than Neji. _"WOO HOO!!!"

"What are you yelling for?"

Lee stopped moving. "Wait did I yell that last part out loud?"

Neji nodded. "And you began dancing around like a lunatic."

"Yes I will do it. But why me?"

"He needs some speed training, and you are one of the fastest people I know. Gai used to be, but he's getting old."

"Don't say that!" Lee shouted. "Gai-sensei is not old; he is in the springtime of his youth!"

"Umm…Lee…he has to be at least fifty years old by now. He is certainly not in his prime."

"YES HE IS!"

Sighing, Neji agreed in order to move the conversation along. "Meet me tomorrow at the western training ground at dawn to begin his first lesson. Can you do that?"

"Certainly, Neji. I will see you then."

_Oh, no! _Lee thought, as Neji left. _I forgot what sit-up I was on! Oh, well, I'll just be extra fit today._

"One. Two. Three…"

* * *

"You see this son?" 

"Yes, father; it's New Orleans." Reiji replied. He stood looking out from the balcony of his mansion. Below him, the townspeople meandered around, doing various evening activities. Only a small sliver of the sun remained visible as it slowly lowered behind the mountaintops.

Reiji's father gave a rare chuckle. "True, boy, this is New Orleans, but it's also more than that, boy. Look around you." Reiji gazed at his home city, not sure what in particular he was supposed to be seeing. He had lived there his whole life and knew every nook and cranny—which was saying a lot since he lived in one big suburb. "Everything the shadows touch will be yours someday. I own New Orleans; I am New Orleans, and someday I will pass it on to you."

"Than you, father."

Jin turned and looked at his son. "Is that acceptable to you?"

"Of course, father. Why wouldn't it be?" Reiji replied without hesitation.

"It wouldn't be for me." His father turned to look back at the view from atop their balcony. "I built our fortune from scratch; I earned what was rightfully mine—what was coming to me." His father paused for a few seconds to light up a cigarette, puffing away slowly. "You should want what's coming to you."

Reiji smirked. "I already know what's coming to me dad."

"What's that?"

"The world, father." He said as he gazed at the ants scrambling below him. "The world and everything in it."

Taking a long drag on his cigarette, his father replied, "Shouldn't settle for anything less."

* * *

As Kaito lay in bed, he wondered how everything had gone so wrong. 

Sure it had not been much of a shock that Reiji beat him, disappointing, but completely predictable. What had surprised was the amount viciousness the other boy had shown. He hated to admit it, but he had been terrified. No, terrified may be too strong of a word. Uneasy is the most his pride would allow him to grudgingly confess. Uneasy that Reiji may have lost it; uneasy that he could have been hurt; uneasy that he might have died.

Subconsciously, Kaito's mind had been preparing for that final blow that may have arrived at any moment. Looking back, the last kunai would not have come even close to a vital area of his body. Hell, it might not have even hit him; who know what Reiji was trying to do.

He did know that he had reacted. Reacted like a coward. Kaito could not have accepted death; he would have sold his soul to escape that fate. _In a sense,_ _I did,_ he thought. _I jeopardized the life of a girl in an effort to save me._

Worse was that not all of him felt guilty enough in his mind. A large portion of his thought turned to what his dad would do when he heard, or if his mother would understand. Not wondering about the health the friend he almost killed.

Whatever Reiji said, he still thought of Lola as his friend. He hoped they still were, but it would come as no surprise if she no longer wanted anything to do with him.

Getting up he knew he had to go see her. He would not get any sleep tonight unless he did. Putting on his clothes and ninja gear, he snuck out of his window, leaping down to the soft grass below.

* * *

The monitor's muffled beeps were the only noise he heard, as he stalked through the door. Since it was past hospital visiting hours, he had discreetly let himself in. Avoiding the nurses and doctors, he had finally reached Lola's room. 

He wished he had not come. It had not helped him; in fact, he felt worse than before. She was out cold, an oxygen mask attached to her face to attempt to stabilize her breathing. Wires spanned across her body, like a giant spider web. The heart rate monitor was erratic, constantly shifting in pattern.

Rifling through the doctor's reports on a nearby desk, he discovered that she had not shown signs of waking up since she had been brought in quite a few hours ago. To his slight relief the papers also said that she would not only live, but also make a full recovery. The bad news was that her recovery could take anywhere from two weeks to two years.

Hearing some distant voices coming nearer, Kaito put everything back where it had been and prowled back toward the hospital exit. Once outside he sprinted to his house, hoping to wear himself out enough to get at least some sleep that night.

As he ran, he contemplated. _I always thought I was better than Reiji morally and as a human being, but am I truthfully any better?_

* * *

Again, sorry for not updating, but I experienced some problems. If you want me to experience fewer problems, reviews could be helpful. That's not a threat; it's the truth. I'm starting to run out of ideas. 

I started a new story that I'm hoping all of you read. It is called Leaf Academy, and is more of a school fic. It's not that original of a premise, but surprisingly entertaining to write anyway.

I re-watched one of my favorite movies, and it showed. Guess and see if you can guess what I'm talking about. The only clue that I will give is that it involves one of the fathers introduced in this chapter, and that movie is fairly popular (most people I know have heard of it, even if they have not seen it).

Sorry if this chapter is not as interesting as it could be. This one was rushed a bit, in order to make up for my lack of any ideas.


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